The Story with No End
by Sir Sleeps-a-lot
Summary: What started out with being at the right park at the right time turns into Keima being dragged into an old conquest's path once again... could it be that this was what he needed all along? [KeimaxTooru] [COMPLETE]
1. The Girl and her Book

**OHMIGOSH, SIR SLEEPS-A-LOT IS ALIVE!?**

 **As luck would have it, yeah... I am still alive... honestly, I've kinda been silent on here for a while, save for reviews, but that is mostly because I haven't really been writing... partially due to lack of time, and partially because my brain keeps flipping from idea to idea, and I know a lot of people will have my head, but... I still haven't gotten any further with DMT and Overboard *squeezes eyes shut***

 **I'm so sorry! :'(**

 **Though this actually doesn't mean that I haven't written anything over the last year... I just write whatever I'm in the mood for, and that does change... for instance, I have 2 longer projects and a couple of one-shots, which I hope to post here over time. I'll talk more about that in the ending author's note, if anyone wants to read that.**

 **This one you've opened now is one of them, which is a birthday present for a friend and fellow Kaminomi writer, Xellos540. I'm pretty sure no one is surprised after looking at the pairing for this story :P**

 **That being said, this was actually supposed to be a one-shot, which, as usual, was overblown by my brain, and now is actually seven chapters (plus an epilogue)... I say this because I've finally completed this, about half a year later than his actual birthday... which I'd also apologise for, if I didn't have enough to apologise for already.**

 **Though nevermind... onto the story.**

 **The girl featured in this story is Tooru Amami, one of the heroines from the light novel, and probably one of the most underrated heroines of this series...**

 **I was honestly very reluctant to read the light novels, due to their crappy English translation, but it was Xellos who convinced me to give it a try, and I discovered that I really did like it... Tooru and Asami from the first novel were very deep and nuanced girls, who deserve the love the girls from the manga get... so I figured I'd try spreading the love and make a precious friend happy at the same time...**

 **That being said, I don't think you actually have to have read the novel to enjoy this story... I definitely thinks it helps, and you'll probably appreciate some of the references, but even outside that, it doesn't require prior knowledge, as I'll explain anything when it happens... I just hope I do it better than Season 3 did with the other Goddess Hosts...**

 **but yeah... the fact that this was supposed to be a one-shot just kind of speaks of the restraint I have while writing *sweatdrops***

 **In any case, thank you to anyone who checks this out and reads my rambling. I hope you enjoy this story, and hopefully give the novels a try.**

* * *

The world is a big place… white candy floss clouds partially obscure deep blue seas and green-brown continents, and it's honestly beautiful…

But this story isn't about the world… it's about a girl and a boy… as you can imagine, it requires a lot of zooming… first over to Asia, the largest continent… then to the little batch of islands on the east… then over the small city of Maijima… then to a lesser known park with a reputation so small that it barely crops up on GPS… then under the second biggest tree in the park, where our girl is sitting, certainly gaining a few looks from the people around her.

Though that might be from the jester hat she had on her head… though she knew well enough that even if she hadn't been wearing that, she would have gotten looks.

For Amami Tooru, stares were the order of the day… between her platinum blonde hair and rocking body, she would gain looks regardless… at least the fluffy, four-pronged jester hat meant that the looks were more from amazement, rather than from lecherous perverts.

It was the strategy she'd devised… her strange appearance would deter any guys from approaching her, and if they did, she always had a character she could fall to so she could be even more of a turn-off for that one persistent guy who wouldn't take a hint.

But that thought wasn't really on her mind… she'd almost forgotten about her ridiculous headgear, and was lost in this book she was reading. She couldn't explain it, considering it was a kid's book… and it was in English, nonetheless… normally something like this would never appeal to her, but somehow, the simplistic stories and wise but short lessons were really to her liking.

She let out a delighted squeal as she finished the next story, hugging the book to her chest.

Man, who would have thought that Aesop's Fables would be so good! Suddenly, something occurred to her.

Oh shit, she lost her page…

As she hastily threw the book open, trying to look for the pages which might look disturbed, a set of eyes rose from a screen and fell on her. He was just a passer-by who had been alarmed by her voice… till recognition hit him.

It was Tooru…

The boy, Katsuragi Keima, had known her some eight months ago… the reason he could say with certainty that she wouldn't recognise him was because she'd forgotten about that time period that the Loose Spirit had possessed her. It was pretty rare for him to come across his old conquests, even at school… and it was probably the second time for him to meet any of the girls who didn't actually go to the same high school as him.

But never mind that… she looked well… definitely more cheerful than the last time he'd encountered her… she hadn't been depressed, but rather, bemused at the fact that he'd randomly showed up in her room and kissed her.

Keima found himself smiling fondly… her issue was fairly complex, but it had been easier than some of the other romances he'd experienced since then… he'd actually been a little worried about her, considering he couldn't really do anything about her overbearing parents… still, by the looks of it, the gap he'd filled with love hadn't emptied since then, even if she didn't love him anymore.

Still, to see her all the way out here… she was in her school uniform, which was a rich private school on the other side of Maijima, so this was definitely odd and unexpected…

And reading, nonetheless… that felt more like a Shiori thing to do.

Keima continued walking and playing, but his thoughts weren't in the game anymore… he usually got like that after running into a conquest he hadn't seen in a while… especially because he had no reason to talk to the girl, even though a small part of him wanted to…

Just, the chances of him walking into her like this was almost certainly not going to happen again… if he wanted to talk to her, he should do it now…

But he wasn't supposed to involve himself in those girls' lives again…

And getting himself needlessly involved would just end up becoming annoying for him…

But he was still wanted to know why she was wearing that hat…

After making three circles around the inner part of the park, while only having moved through a couple of screens of dialogue, Keima put his foot down and left, feeling more socially awkward than he had in a long time… he'd say that the real was a shitty game, but this was a new low, even by those standards.

Tooru raised an eyebrow… she'd only noticed Keima following his second rotation and she was pretty certain that the boy was acting weird… she usually had pretty good instincts of what the people around her were like, but weird truly felt like the only word which worked… honestly, she wouldn't have actually minded if he'd come to talk with her, but no mind… she slipped her bookmark into her copy of Aesop's Fables in the page she assumed to be her place, and brought out a little book, something new on her mind now.

They didn't meet this time…

* * *

Keima was walking through that same park about three days later, this time with a purpose in mind… it was Thursday, which meant all the new games (including the long awaited sequel of Bake it with Love) would have reached his favourite shop on Wai Wai Street… as always, power walking through the park was the quickest way there…

"Ichigo-chan, Ichigo-chan, Ichigo-chan…" he muttered his mantra over and over as his chibi self scuttled over the grass. Suddenly, he paused mid-step, returning back to his normal self.

Tooru was here again. There was no mistaking the pale blonde girl who was seated at the same tree as before… this time, her head was leaning back against the bark, tapping her pen against her lips as she looked up through the trees, a notebook pressed against her raised knees… she'd be breathtakingly beautiful, if it wasn't for the comically large glasses and nose she was wearing over her face. Keima snorted, but he was close enough this time that Tooru heard him, and looked back down.

For a moment, the two teens looked at each other, the world slowing as they took each other's appearances in… the boy tall but inelegant… attractive brown eyes set in behind oval frames… the girl small but gorgeous… gold eyes widened behind her fake plastic spectacles…

'W-what was with this?' her thoughts and heart stuttered at his beautiful eyes… it was that same boy from a few days back, but he was actually looking at her, his eyes a pool of warm chocolate. She hadn't noticed that before.

Meanwhile Keima… started laughing again… the glasses were even more ridiculous than the jester hat from the last time he'd seen her. Tooru felt herself go red from the embarrassment.

"W-why are you laughing!?" she tried to snap. She knew that it was most likely the glasses she'd been wearing to detract any males who might be paying attention to her… to be laughed at was honestly the reaction she would have wanted, but her brain seemed to have stopped working all of a sudden. She flinched back as Keima started moving toward her, raising a hand as if he'd meant no harm.

"It's just…" he swallowed his laughter and tried to catch his breath, "those glasses are ridiculous."

"I know…" Tooru retorted, folding her arms over her chest, "that's why I'm wearing them!"

Tooru scrambled back into a more decent sitting position while Keima stood there… he'd talked to her… he wasn't supposed to talk to her…

Still, seeing her blushing face brought a nostalgic feeling to his heart… considering how much shit the real had been responsible of, seeing her was almost a reminder of easier times… of him being able to tell her about devils because she'd never believe it… of her acting like a Denpakei to ward off unsuspecting suiters…

Come to think of it, it was quite possible that the hat from two days ago and the glasses now were her continuing that tradition. She'd just agreed that she considered them ridiculous as well, after all…

"Ah…" Keima let the thought sink in, "they're so men don't try asking you out, aren't they?"

Tooru gasped slightly at being seen through so completely by a stranger… a fairly handsome one as well… it was like his eyes had seen through her soul.

"How would you know that?" she asked coolly, "I wear them because I like them…"

"Sure sure…" Keima smirked, "because you 'like' them…"

"Of course," Tooru responded brightly, "just like how you 'like' walking around this park in circles…"

Keima shut his mouth, looking appropriately abashed at his idiocy from before.

"You noticed that, huh?"

"I did…" she smiled at the fact that she had something over him, "and if you ask me, that was even more embarrassing that my fabulous glasses…" she tossed her long hair (with some difficulty, considering some was trapped between her and the base of the tree).

Keima sighed… she had him there.

"Okay, I'll stop if you do," he scratched his head. She paused to think about it for a moment, before agreeing.

"Deal," she pushed out her hand, which Keima took… it was warm and delicate, just as he'd expect… just like any time he got to hold a girl's hand.

"Katsuragi Keima…" he greeted. He knew he was still a stranger to this girl, even if she wasn't to him. She smiled as she let go, patting the ground next to her. He cautiously settled down to her right.

"So are you going to tell me why you were acting so creepy before?" she asked energetically, Keima looked aside awkwardly… he couldn't really tell her what was happening in his brain at that time, could he?

Well, he probably could… he had blurted the truth to her once before, but that was before he learnt that she was faking being a Denpakei… he wouldn't really risk it now though… as a reminder to himself, he wasn't supposed to get involved, and now he's sitting next to her.

"I-I'd just been curious about your hat…" he replied. Tooru brought her head closer to his, nearly bumping him with her ridiculously large nose.

"Eeeeh… you already knew what it was for," she teased, before suddenly realising she was nearly nose to nose with him, and he was blushing… she pulled her head back, as both of them looked away awkwardly…

Tooru really couldn't explain it… she hated guys who approached her, yet she felt she'd wanted to talk to him… she'd never care if anyone laughed at her disguises, yet she was a little offended when he did… she'd never let anyone come so close that they could kiss her, yet she totally invaded his personal space… even now, she could feel her guard slip around this Keima…

Normally, she'd be concerned if any guy was staring at her… he certainly wasn't doing so, and in a way, he was actually scarier than some of the creeps she'd encountered, just because she couldn't exercise her normal level of self-control around him… Seriously, what the hell was up with that? She'd known him for five minutes and she was already being this weird…

"I-I'd been‒"

"You don't have to tell me," Tooru laughed, scratching her head, "in any case, I'm glad to meet you, Katsuragi-kun…" she gave him a dazzling smile.

"I still haven't gotten your name…" Keima reminded, but Tooru laughed it off, picking up her notebook off the floor and dusting it.

"You know, Katsuragi-kun… I'm trying to write a story now…" she showed him the few lines that she'd crossed out, "I really don't know how, though…"

Keima paused… so the Shiori thing from two days ago hadn't actually been a coincidence… in fact, if he was to accept the flag she'd just set up, this would actually be something he had done in the past.

He internally groaned… why did they have to set up flags? And why did he want to follow through with them? He didn't even have to! She didn't even know that he knew her already.

"So… what kind of story are you writing?" he reluctantly asked. It wouldn't make much of a difference in the kind of cheerleading he'd be doing, but Shiori did read enough books to know how to write… he couldn't be sure if Tooru had that level of knowledge.

Though with the amount of games he played, he was certain that he could write a halfway decent story… if it was romance… though he probably wouldn't be bad in a different genre either…

"I want to write an Aesop's fable," Tooru said brightly, and Keima's thoughts stalled. The blonde brought out her large book and plopped it open on his lap to a page… with one eyebrow raised, he started reading.

"THE CROW AND THE PITCHER

A crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher, which he beheld at some distance. When he came, he found water in it indeed, but so near the bottom that with all his stooping and straining he was not able to reach it. The he tried to overturn the Pitcher, that so at least he might be able to get a little of it. But his strength was not sufficient for this. At last, seeing some pebbles near the place, her cast, one by one into the Pitcher, and thus, by degrees, raised the water up to the very brim, and satisfied his thirst.

AN END CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN MORE THAN ONE WAY."

Tooru joined along with reading the moral at the end… as Keima processed what he had read, she continued her gushing.

"I just really like how short and concise they are, and how the animals teach you a lesson in the end…" she looked down at her book, "I just don't know about how you can write a short story with a lesson, and what animals I'm even supposed to choose…"

Keima sighed… so this was going to be different… and quite probably annoying… he didn't really have answers for her at this point anyway.

"I'll help you, okay…" he turned to her, "in one week, you will have come up with a story which you will be proud of… and I'll help you with the research required."

A smile stretched on Tooru's face, which Keima tried not to look at.

"Now I'm going to buy games… we can meet over the weekend…" after he had time to research those stories… and explain to himself why he decided to get himself involved with Tooru when there was no Loose Spirit on the line…

He blamed nostalgia… that was the only reason he'd put himself through something like this…

Except he knew that was a lie… whether he liked it or not, he wasn't the same uncaring game-toting guy he knew himself to be at the start of his second year… he'd learnt a lot about real girls and how his actions influenced them… or maybe more correctly, hurt them…

He was offered a chance to do something good here… it would be in his best interest to actually take that opportunity and assist an old conquest… and even if it was for a short time, keep her in his life… not to mention, it was thanks to her that he even had his in the first place, considering their first meeting, where she'd pulled him out of a burning building.

But even if he didn't owe her that much (which he did), there was still that part of him that appreciated the real and all their idiosyncrasies, and which wanted to keep them in his life… granted they didn't eat too much into his gaming time.

In Tooru's head, things were a little different… she was a little confused why he'd want to help, considering she hadn't even asked for it… this was something she'd just wanted to do on whim…

But looking past that, this might be the first time in forever where anyone asked to meet her… there were plenty of guys who wanted to hang out, but after her award-winning display of weirdness, they didn't want to have anything to do with her… and most girls used to gossip about her and her "feminine wiles" which she used to "trap" guys, so she certainly wasn't popular with them either.

But Keima seemed different… more than the weird vibe she'd gotten from him before, he wasn't interested in how she looked… he wanted to help her with her writing task… and he was basically a stranger, considering all she knew about him was his appearance… and that he liked games.

She smiled. This just meant that it was an opportunity to learn more, and possibly make her first friend.

As he was getting up, she grabbed his hand. Keima turned back to her, a little alarmed.

"What is it?" he asked. She gave him a sweet, if not slightly shy, smile.

"My name is Tooru… Amami Tooru."

She was a little bit reluctant sharing her name with strangers. She hated being catcalled, but she'd take that any day to those creeps who would talk to her like they were her friend. Then there was always the one jerk who commented on how she had a boys' name, so she'd learnt that nothing good really came from giving it to people. But if she actually wanted him to be her first friend, she'd have to entrust that to him first.

"Oh," he smiled, "that's a nice name, Tooru…"

As the smile touched his brilliant eyes, the girl felt a squeeze in her heart she'd never felt before, and her fingers unfurled from his palm, suddenly sweaty. Even her ridiculous glasses slipped off her nose, revealing confused gold eyes.

This was the first time they met… or the seventh, depending on the point of view.

* * *

 **Yep, we're here again... time to listen to more of Sir Sleeps-a-lot's ramblings xD**

 **Well, there was the first chapter, where Keima and Tooru meet up again, many months after their original meeting, and now Tooru is writing, and of course, our poor Kami-nii-sama is pulled on board again. The romance is pretty low-key for now, but hey... we have 6 more chapters to do something about that.**

 **As this story is completed on my computer, I hope to update it every 2 or 3 days. After that, I'll probably start posting some other stuff here and there, and hopefully, share my other big romance novel project of the last year, which is about double the size of this story, but still ongoing...**

 **And it isn't Chihiro (for once)... it's everyone!**

 **That being said, if you wanna read it, you may need to change your filter on this site, because it's M-rated... and worthy of its rating, if I can say so myself.**

 **Yep, I wrote a lemon... in fact, I've been getting a fair amount of practice with that, and it's quite possible I'll start posting some of them as well.**

 **However, for my stories rated T, this won't change the content in the slightest... I've just been dabbling in a few stuff lately.**

 **In any case, if you enjoyed this or hated it, please lemme know in a review. But if you just wanna read, I'm happy with that too, and I hope you'll be tuned for the later chapters :)**

 **Hope you are all doing well, and I love you!**


	2. The Girl in Wolf's Clothing

**Ok, take two of this, because fanfiction decided to log me out as I was saving the changes I'd made... apologies if I sound frustrated during these Author's Notes.**

 **Hey again, and welcome back to chapter 2. Seeing that I have a hell of a lot more to say in the closing notes, please enjoy this.**

* * *

Tooru reached the park early on the Saturday, having remembered the previous night that they hadn't discussed a meeting time. As the small part of her suspected, she had beaten him here, so she took the time to straighten her dress and catch her breath. She really shouldn't have worried so much about being late.

In any case, she'd decided against any ridiculous headwear today, rather slipping on her headband with the golden wings to pull her hair back, and a yellow dress with a blue denim jacket and sneakers… it was a cute ensemble, and the jacket would probably tone down the look.

However, it took a little longer than she would've liked to pick that outfit. She guessed that was the price for trying not to wear clothes she always wore.

In any case, she settled down at one of the circular park tables, her copy of Aesop's Fables to the side and her notepad in front of her, poised to a clean page.

What kind of lesson did she want to teach in her story? Considering how many different ones were covered in the book, it felt like it would be difficult to come up with one that wasn't already done.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… there was already a story with a hen about that…

A bird in a hand is worth two in the bush… the dog in that one story learnt that the hard way…

Slow and steady wins the race… obviously the tortoise and the hare knew that…

She groaned as her face fell to the table… her therapist had told her to get some kind of creative outlet, but she wasn't a creative person… she'd probably be able to complete a math equation with more ease, and she sucked at math! That was testimony to her perceived writing skills.

Maybe an Aesop on how to make friends… except she didn't have an answer for that herself!

Aargh!

"You sound… pleasant…" Tooru looked up, only to see Keima in the seat opposite her. She'd say that he'd snuck up on her, but considering how distracted she'd been, it wasn't really a surprise she'd missed him.

Her mood brightened slightly as she took in his simple attire… a plain shirt and slacks, and the one lock of hair that was rebelling against the rest of it.

"It's alright," she sighed, "I was just trying to think of what I could do for my story."

"In that case, I'm glad to help," he smiled. Tooru could feel her own heart warm up as well.

Then freeze as he slammed a large file on top of the stone surface of the table.

"What is this?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Research," Keima responded simply, "on the origins of Aesops and on animal stereotypes…"

He pushed it towards her… cautiously, she opened the first page… text… walls of it…

As she flipped through the pages, they seemed to hold true as well… even though there was highlighter and other colours, this could only be described as daunting.

"I-I can't really read this, Katsuragi-kun…" she remarked, "Is there no way to summarise this?"

Still, she had to hand it to him… the fact that he could do this much in two days was pretty amazing…

For Keima, both Chihiro and Shiori came to mind… the former had rebuked his written dialogue and route pile instantly, while the latter would probably die happy at having more to read… of course Tooru was more polite than Chihiro.

"Well, you can keep that for reference examples, but I was going to summarise the most of it verbally."

Tooru calmed down a little… so she wasn't expected to read everything…

"In any case, you know the basis of a story from school… the introduction, the body and the conclusion, right?"

She nodded eagerly… she'd learnt that in class, after all.

"Well, as it turns out, you can forget about that, because that's not the general setup of Aesops…" he continued.

Tooru sighed… she guessed it wasn't actually that surprising… that may have been partially the reason why those stories were so hard to write for her.

"As it turns out, it's just a single anecdote which contains everything. The last line just sums up the lesson they intended to make it easier for people to understand… which is probably good, because some of the lessons don't make much sense."

"Like which ones?" she asked.

"There are some partially conflicting ones… like not enquiring your worth, yet it being advantageous to actually know your worth… most likely, the lesson is to define your own worth and not settling… but then there's other situations where you should accept your lot in life and not fight with destiny…" he answered, before sighing, "I do disagree with some of the lessons, but that's besides the point…"

Tooru smiled… he'd done his research with regards to this.

"Did you read the whole book?" she asked.

"I never shirk on my research," he assured, "I want to be able to assist you in writing the best story you can, and my opinions on the book aren't required here."

Honestly, she was interested in his opinion, but she did get the impression that that was a question for a later time.

The conversation continued like that, with a discussion on the animals, with Keima viewing them as the weakest aspect of the stories because using animals to speak of morals and lessons was about as effective as a dating simulation with pigeons, while Tooru still gushing over how interesting they were as a stories were with them. They certainly didn't see eye to eye on a lot of aspects, but she could tell something for sure. Keima had a lot of opinions, and his eyes shone as he shared them. She really liked that about him.

That wasn't even the whole of their discussion… beyond stories and animals, Tooru shared her reasons for writing, and her interests outside of that, which he seemed fairly interested in as well.

As the two of them talked well into the afternoon, an alarm on Tooru's phone went off, reminding her that she should be heading home… rather, she was very surprised to actually spend a quarter of her day in the same place, having talked for the entirety of that.

She gave him a small smile as she gathered her books and jacket off the table.

"Sorry, my mother is expecting me soon," she sighed, "I should probably go."

Keima gave her a sympathetic smile, having listened to her talk about the woman earlier... although he did have an idea of what her parents were like.

"What did you tell her you were out doing today?" Keima asked, a little curious.

"Studying," she gave a bright smile, which Keima couldn't help laugh at as well.

"So much for 'honesty is the best policy', huh?" he responded. Tooru laughed as well.

"Maybe it's not something to tell kids, but 'what you don't know won't hurt you'… so it's fine to lie once in a while…"

Her smile fell slightly and she started walking away from the table, a little thing Keima did notice. So she didn't like having to lie to her parents…

"Though Tooru," he found himself voicing out before he could stop himself, "do you value your parents' opinion above other peoples?"

That was why the gap had formed in her heart… the constant minus checks and her trying to shed them. She shook her head.

"It's my opinion which matters the most in my life," she said firmly, "I'd rather not have to lie, but it's a necessary evil, and I don't really consider myself to be a bad person because I do it."

Her head turned back, her hair swishing and catching the afternoon sun.

"I'm just different than them…" her last words barely catching Keima's ears. While a part of him was proud of her… for going to get the help she needed… for aiming for her path, even if it was a small thing like writing a story that she liked… for being able to rebel against her parents…

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sad for her. For him, meeting girls was easy… his mother never acted like a helicopter over his life, yet he knew that he was loved… he probably took that for granted as well.

That was the eighth time they met, and as they parted, the affection and respect they felt for each other was mutual, even if they didn't understand what it meant.

* * *

The plan had been to meet on Sunday at 10 am, as they'd properly discussed it during their previous chat. This time, Tooru was dressed in knee length shorts and a form-fitting T-shirt, an ordinary cap on her head.

She'd honestly been very happy about their conversation the previous day, but something had come to mind after she'd gone home… something she wouldn't even need to lie about to her mother.

"I'm going to the zoo today, Oka-sama…" she'd declared after finishing her breakfast she didn't have to prepare for herself.

"Ah," the mother replied, her face not betraying any emotion, "with your friends?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, "is it okay if I buy some snacks while I'm there?" that was the moment when the first semblance of a smile came to the mother's face.

"You can, but don't come crying to me if you get fat…" Tooru restrained herself from rolling her eyes, "be sure to take some pictures for me to enjoy. You can take a camera from me."

Tooru agreed… that was about as close to approval as she'd get from her.

Still, she could tell that there was a catch here… in particular, those pictures her mother was requesting… if Tooru was going with a friend, she would expect to see the friend in some of the pictures, and she was aware that her parents wouldn't be quite on board with her having male friends…

Though the thought of Keima being her friend definitely made her happy… insanely so…

She shook herself out of her love-struck state. That really didn't help with the actual issue. Her mother would expect to see a female friend, and that would mean she'd have to conjure up one from somewhere…

In any case, when Keima met up with her, she was pacing around the tree she'd first been at, her eyes flickering on and off on the camera. What was the point of lying when the proof was going to be in here?

"You can try, but you won't be able to scuff a hole all the way to the other side of the world," he joked. Tooru stopped, her face darkening.

"I'm not digging anywhere," she piped up, but Keima hushed her down to show he'd been joking.

"I see you're not planning to do any writing today," he noted her lack of a bag. She got over her embarrassment enough to bring out her purse.

"This is all I'm going to need today," she grinned cheekily, "because we are going to the zoo today… for research!"

Keima rolled his eyes, but he wasn't mad… after all, he'd gone out with Shiori to get ramen, and that was completely unrelated to writing. She did even have somewhat of a point to want to watch animals and their behaviour for research.

"Though it might not be the best reference… the animals in those stories talk to each other," Keima added, earning a shrug from the girl, "but if you're okay with that, then sure… lets go to the zoo."

With that, Keima had to apply a little thought as to change the route. First they'd need to go to Narusawa, because that was where the zoo was… and he'd need cash, considering he might need to buy snacks and souvenirs. Dammit, he should have brought more batteries for his PFP too… 10 wouldn't be en‒

"Nee, Katsuragi-kun," Keima looked up to his name, "do you have any female friends you could bring along with you?"

Keima's thoughts screeched to a halt at Tooru's averted face, the hint of a blush staining it. Did she think that them going alone would be too much of a date?

Is it bad he felt a little smug over all the guys who would have loved to be able to take Tooru to the zoo?

"Why do you ask?" Keima raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his voice impassive.

"I-I told my mother I was going to the zoo with a friend, and she told me to take pictures… and I know she won't approve if it's just you."

She fidgeted with her camera slightly, and Keima's smile fell in disappointment… it was like that, huh?

"I'd invite my sister, but I know she's unavailable today…" he sighed, "but I think I do know of one friend who seems to have way too much free time and loves being in pictures…"

"Yes, please invite her!" Tooru chimed.

Still, there was an air of reluctance with both of them as Keima dialled on his phone… with him, it was because this particular friend could be… a bit much… with her, Tooru just didn't have a good track record of making friends. She was certain that she couldn't be a bad person, considering Katsuragi called her a friend, but that didn't stop her worrying about the kind of impression she would make.

"She said she'll meet us at the train station," Keima said as he flipped his phone closed. While that was one problem solved for Tooru, she knew it was only beginning.

* * *

Tooru was watching Keima as they were waiting at the station. She expected his expression would change with his friend's entrance, and she wasn't disappointed.

"Oh God," his eyes widened. Tooru followed his eyes to a girl who was cheerfully waving at him as she approached.

"You had to wear that, didn't you?" he complained as the girl reached them. She laughed, giving him a little spin to show off her panda hoodie.

"Of course I had to… we're going to a zoo, you know!?" the brunette flicked her fabric ears, "it's not like I'm wearing this to a fancy dinner…"

"You have worn that to a fancy dinner!" Keima snapped. She didn't look remotely abashed by that.

"So that happened," she shrugged, "rather, aren't you gonna introduce us?" she indicated to Tooru. Keima nodded, turning back to Tooru.

"Tooru, this is Chihiro…" he turned back to the brunette, "Chihiro, this is Tooru, and if you value your life, you'll behave like a normal person today… but it seems like that boat has sailed already."

He pointed to the hoodie, earning a glare from Chihiro.

"I-I really like your hoodie, Chihiro-san," Tooru interjected. The brunette's smile widened. Before Tooru could even tell, the other girl swung her arm. She cringed and tried to protect her face, but it wasn't necessary, as Chihiro was just putting her arm around the other girl's shoulder.

"I like her," Chihiro declared, "let's leave the dweeb to his games, and you and I can check out the zoo…" she suddenly pulled a grey wolf hat out of nowhere, "you can even wear this over your cap, if you want to…"

Tooru looked at Keima helplessly as Chihiro dragged her off. Keima sighed as he followed them to the train… this had been what he was worried about.

* * *

As the three of them entered the zoo, Keima could only say one thing…

He was exhausted!

Tooru had gotten a bit more used to Chihiro's presence now and actually seemed to be having fun, but Chihiro was still acting too much like herself, and Keima had to quell her down… trying to stop her from humming Christmas carols ("It's already been over for close to three months, dammit!") and stop her from checking out Tooru's body ("that's pretty much sexual harassment, you know?"). While Tooru hadn't been too bothered, considering Chihiro wasn't giving off a creepy pervy vibe, Keima would still grab her by the scuff of her panda jacket and pull her away.

It was strange… for Tooru, who had never gone out with friends before, actually felt included in between these two very different people… While Chihiro was all for taking pictures of the animals, Tooru, herself and the food she'd begged Keima to buy for them, Keima preferred to stay away from the camera and would only talk on occasion.

Of course, they did actually have the discussion the whole trip was for… which animals were majestic and strong, to which animals were weak… and even which animals they liked personally. Chihiro was less involved with that, but it gave her a moment to stand back and watch.

Keima was playing his PFP today, but he would put it down when talking to Tooru. Considering he was only really passionate for games, his involvement in any conversations about animals was almost amazing…

Or was he only that involved because it was Tooru?

She couldn't help the twinge that came with that… Tooru was definitely gorgeous… her blonde hair had volume and her style was great, even with the ridiculous wolf hat. She'd noticed the looks she was getting, or even that Keima was getting for actually being in close proximity to her.

And Tooru was nice to him… a lot nicer than she'd been, and even nicer than she was now.

She couldn't really help viewing Tooru as a rival... who was actually above her level.

You see, Keima and Chihiro had had an… interesting history, to say in the least… like Tooru, Keima had filled a gap in her heart that had been occupied by a Loose Spirit, and she'd forgotten about his involvement in that as well… however, from her vantage point in their class, she'd come to like him without remembering anything romantic that had happened between them… well, as he'd told it to her, it hadn't been particularly romantic… she'd been chasing after some guy, and Keima had been her wingman. Of course, she'd already had somewhat of a crush on him, and that grew… but at the same time, she knew he couldn't like her back, which made the Loose Spirit stronger. She gave up confessing, and with her and Keima's tentative friendship being over, she was at the Akanemaru, depressed, when Keima came to talk to her and eventually kiss her.

Her first ever kiss, and she'd forgotten about it… she'd normally punch someone for that unfairness, but who could she even punch… her memories!?

Well, she did get to remember her second kiss with him… and her third… and her fourth…

Did she mention she'd gone out with him for four months?

They weren't going out now though… petty squabbles aside; she got the feeling that he didn't quite like her like how she did him. He was a good boyfriend, and she had been happy… but from the get go, he'd explained that he didn't know much about real love, and even though he knew his feelings were stronger than what he'd felt for other girls, he couldn't guarantee it was real love, or if they were just born out of guilt for hurting her. In any case, they'd had a talk and amicably split… she'd always wanted to be closer friends with him, and that she was… they talked a lot more, and he'd confided with her about all the adventures he'd been on.

She'd been happy to have him as her first boyfriend, and she'd made a lot of nice memories… she was even okay with the relationship having to end if it meant they could both be certain of how they felt…

But on the other hand, she could see something different about the way he treated Tooru… giving her more of his undivided attention, and being more interested in the topics she liked… not to say he'd been rude to Chihiro while they were dating, but it did take a lot more energy to get his attention.

Well, it wasn't really her business…

Still, she glanced through her phone camera, she watched as Keima and Tooru chatted to each other, bodies turned to each other and their eyes lit up, with Tooru's hands animatedly joining in whatever conversation they were having. She smiled, taking the picture.

Regardless of her feelings, Tooru and Keima looked cute together.

* * *

 **Ok, back to the Author's Notes... how I miss my 500 words that had been there before :'(**

 **Well, with this chapter, we get a new (and not surprising) character introduction, and some context as to where this is happening... actually at the end of the manga, probably during the March holidays before 3rd Year, and some time after Chihiro and Keima have broken up...**

 **WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?**

 **Yes, I did indeed break up my OTP... I just kind of prefer sticking with canon, and I think it's a real enough reason for why they might have broken up, based on a lot of the talk from the fans at the end of the manga.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this humble tale... honestly, I had planned to respond to reviews, but the fact that my original responses were deleted, I think I will put this off two more days. However, I am grateful and humbled by your opinions.**

 **Though with regards to ZelgadisGW's review and my complaints in the summary, I have requested that Tooru be added as a character, but it may take a while... I actually planned to include Chihiro as a character in this story (as she does crop up a lot), but I will only do so after Tooru is added.**

 **Well, that's all from me. Have a Happy Easter, and I will hopefully see you this Sunday**

 **And an Aesop to all my readers... if you want to post anything on this site, do not let the page stay open when you change wifi networks, because that is how you friggin' lose 500 words!**


	3. The Girl and her Epiphany

**Guess who's back with another chapter! I'm sure everyone got to miss me over the two days I haven't posted...**

 ***crickets chirp***

 **Ah well. Whoever is here, please enjoy Chapter 3. This one is kinda longer than usual, but never mind. People who love fanfiction probably enjoy reading anyway :)**

* * *

Around lunch, Chihiro somewhat removed herself from the picture, designating herself to fetch the food from WcDonalds, while Keima and Tooru found them a table. Keima plopped himself into a small circular table and placed his bag on the seat next to it, while Tooru sat in the last one on his other side.

"So what did you think about the zoo so far?" Keima asked, his eyes not lifting off his PFP, which he'd been playing since before he'd even walked into the establishment.

"The animals were interesting… and Chihiro-san was fun…" she responded, but she could tell that there was something a little off from her voice… it wasn't as if there was something to be unhappy about, but… she didn't actually know…

The day had been amazing… Chihiro was acting more like a friend to her than most people had in her life… between sharing her shaved ice, randomly pausing to take selfies together and trying to flick chocolate-covered peanuts into Tooru's mouth while they were walking… the animals had been entertaining as well, but mostly thanks to Keima's discussions about how they are in Aesops, and Chihiro impersonating some of them…

Just… Keima…

He'd really been so great today… even while he was playing his console, it was clear he was attentive of what animals they were passing, and his insights were a delight to listen to, both about the animals and his opinions on them. She honestly wouldn't mind listening to him all day.

At the same time, she couldn't help this slight sinking feeling from inside her which had nothing to do with her hunger… rather, something had happened, and she wasn't quite sure what it was.

There had been this little moment by the fish display which kind of stuck out in Tooru's mind… the light may have been dim, but that made Keima's face glow a kind of ethereal blue. His eyes were wide as he watched a Sting Ray swim by him, his console slackened in his hand.

Despite the vaguely blue light, his eyes were still beautiful and deep, like the water he was staring into…

She was confused… why did she like his eyes so much? Admittedly, she did have somewhat of a fascination with them normally… with the lack of communication she had with most people, that was her best mirror to how they felt… her mother was always irritated for some reason or other… her father's eyes were kinder, but never settled on anyone… a decent amount of guys would look at her chest… or try not to look at it, if they were polite.

But he didn't care… it wasn't a matter if him being polite as it was him being uninterested in her body. Even his treatment of her was different to other people… she wasn't some fragile thing that people treated her as… neither was she the type people could sweet talk and go to "play" with. But that was never his intention.

She was just a girl, and that was what he treated her like. He'd never really know how grateful she was for that… for him…

She remembered that her heart seemed to be burning and squeezing… a new and curious sensation she'd never really felt before, but she had an inkling as to what it was about.

Of course, any reader of Shoujo manga knew exactly where it was going.

Despite that revelation, Tooru had kept a cool head and continued as she was, but she didn't know where to go with this information that she had a crush on him. Should she tell him… or just sit on it until it goes away?

Was she jumping the gun? I mean, could they even be considered friends by this point?

It was a pretty big coincident that they had met at all, considering how they didn't go to the same school, and how far the park was from her house...

She was pulled out from here reverie to remember that Keima was still looking at her expectantly, wanting to know the answer of her question. He'd even put his PFP down after she hadn't answered for close to a minute.

"The zoo…" Tooru thought for a moment longer, before a smile came to her face, "it's honestly been quite fun."

Even despite her life possibly changing, and her not really knowing what to do, she had had a good time… and even better, it was only lunch time… they would still be here for another two hours.

"That's good to hear," Keima spoke evenly, "what part did you like the best?"

'You…' she answered in her head almost immediately. She did manage to change her answer to something more neutral like the cheetahs, but she was glad Keima wasn't looking up, because she was certain her head was on fire at that last thought she had to stop herself from blurting out…

While Keima agreed, mentioning how their spots fascinated him… which then got him thinking about how cheetahs were portrayed in Aesops… Tooru found a fond smile coming to her face as she listened to him chatter.

"Nee, Katsuragi-kun?" she interrupted after a minute, and Keima looked up, "can you tell me about the kind of games you're playing?"

Keima gave her a confused look, which she shrugged to.

"Considering how much you've been playing them today, I got a little curious too…"

While that didn't quite clear the confusion, he could tell that Tooru did seem to be interested, so he humoured her, first explaining galge in general, before going further into the food-based dating sim he was playing.

Like how Keima had been going along with her Aesop creation, she went along with his game conversation, throwing her two cents here and there, but ultimately letting him lead the conversation, his face brighter and his hands getting animated at showing her his screen.

There's been a little phrase Tooru had come across which she felt applied here: "a person becomes 1000 times cuter when talking about the thing they love…"

In fact, if you asked Tooru, 1000 times might be selling it a bit short.

* * *

Chihiro was waiting for the food when her eyes settled on her two companions, who seemed to be having their own good mood going on. She smiled slightly as she tried to quell the slight jealousy at that image…

They looked nice together… while when Chihiro and Keima had been dating, they got confused for siblings way more than she liked.

In any case, she decided to look elsewhere in the crowd for some interesting people… like maybe she could guess if certain pairs were dating…

Her eyes settled on a girl and boy at a table, poking each other… most probably friends…

The lady in her twenties and a middle-aged man talking over coffee… maybe colleagues… or father and daughter…?

The rest seemed to be groups, but as she was scanning, she noticed a familiar face… a familiar black-headed girl with medium-length hair tied on the left, who was reading the big menu behind the counter. Chihiro glanced around, but no one was hanging around her.

Perfect… she snuck behind the girl.

Asami-san!" Chihiro called in a sing-song voice as she swung an arm around her shoulder. To her disappointment, the girl didn't jump, rather looking surprised. As she spotted Chihiro's broad smile, she gave one in return.

"It's been a while…" Asami agreed boisterously, swinging her own arm around Chihiro, "how were the exams?"

Chihiro felt herself freeze. This was unlike the Asami she knew from class… they were more classmates than friends, and she's imagined the girl would be more awkward at the attention, not just return it back.

"Better than usual… Katsuragi insisted on teaching me again…" she shrugged, suddenly remembering a (totally true) rumour regarding the girl next to her, "come to think of it, you should totally join us next time. Katsuragi is single now, after all…"

Chihiro nudged her repeatedly with her elbow, a smirk on her face, as she waited for the embarrassment to settle. To her disappointment, Asami didn't start blushing… in fact, she just had somewhat of a straight face.

"Katsuragi-kun?"

"Don't think I didn't notice your face when you found out me and Katsuragi were going out," Chihiro laughed cheerfully, "not that I minded girls looking at my man… but now's as good a time as any to snatch him up…"

Of course, the elbowing continued… but nothing from Asami, other than a raised eyebrow.

Chihiro pouted. This was no fun!

"Ah, Onee-chan…" Asami spoke, and Chihiro looked up to see… Asami walk up to them?"

Chihiro quickly looked to who she was nudging… who was also Asami…

With that, Chihiro knew she'd messed up.

"You're not Asami-san, are you?" Chihiro asked the girl next to her, despair tinging her voice. The girl smiled, shaking her head.

"Yoshino Ikumi," the girl put out her hand, and Chihiro groaned. She'd messed up…

"K-kosaka Chihiro," she took the hand with a sigh, which Ikumi shook jovially. Chihiro's sudden drop in mood wasn't lost on the apparent stranger whom she'd been trying to mess with.

"You tried, Chihiro-san…" Ikumi patted her on the arm, "but you can't tease me on a crush which I've never had…"

Suddenly, her hand paused.

"Come to think of it, what's your proof that Nee-chan's got the hots for him?"

Chihiro cheered up at the gossiping opportunity that she'd set up.

"I've noticed she looks at him in class when he isn't looking…" she whispered, "and at the time she found out he wasn't single, she nearly tore the book that was in her hands…"

Ikumi's eyes widened, and Chihiro snickered. Maybe she could get along with the younger Yoshino… not that it completely fixed that first impression she'd just made.

By then, Asami had joined the two girls as well, greeting Chihiro shyly. The brunette scratched her head awkwardly.

"I-I didn't know you had a twin," Chihiro said weakly. For a moment, she wondered why her classmate was acting like this. Chihiro was normally quite composed… unless…

She glanced up at Ikumi, who had a smirk on her face.

"Don't tell me you were pretending to be me…" Asami spoke with more annoyance than Chihiro had ever heard out of her. Most likely, this hadn't been the first time Ikumi had done something like that.

"I wasn't pretending," Ikumi petulantly crossed her arms over her chest, "I just didn't correct her when she thought I was you."

"That is pretending!" Asami shot back, "now you gave Chihiro-san a weird impression of us…" she turned back to her still awkward classmate, "I'm so sorry, Chihiro-san…"

"It's fine," Chihiro looked up, trying to brush off what had happened, "it was meant to be a joke, so…"

Out of nowhere, Ikumi threw her arm around her older sister.

"Don't worry about it, Onee-chan… what you should worry about is that Katsuragi-kun is over there, and he wants to talk with you," she pointed to one of the tables.

With no hesitation, Asami whipped her head in the direction her sister had pointed, a bright pink coming to her face… then she remembered who she was actually talking to, and her face darkened even further. Chihiro found herself smiling that Ikumi had taken the baton on her original mission.

"I KNEW IT!" Ikumi screamed triumphantly, earning the gazes of a lot of the patrons, "you really do like Katsuragi-kun…"

Asami stayed an appealing red as she tried to shush her younger sister, who was nearly doubled in laughter…

Chihiro, on the other hand, noticed something a bit off… rather, the direction Ikumi had pointed in the first place wasn't even where Keima and Tooru were sitting…

After Asami had Ikumi's mouth covered, she turned back to where Ikumi had pointed, looking for Keima's messy head to see if they'd caught his attention with the noise the younger sister had been making. There was nothing.

"He isn't even here," Asami spoke exasperatedly to her identical sister, who just laughed.

"Of course… why would he even be here!?"

The laughter continued, and Asami's already red face seemed to somehow darken at the thought of being duped by her sister… again…

"Umm, actually…" Chihiro interjected, trying to hide her smile, "Katsuragi is here… he's actually over there…"

As she pointed to the real direction Keima had been at, the girls fell silent, only now noticing that Keima was actually staring at them from his seat. This went on for a moment, before both girls looked away, their faces bright pink. Chihiro couldn't help snorting at this, glad that she'd still come out on top.

Keima sighed… what was it now?

* * *

Keima had to take this party to a bigger table, as Chihiro invited the twins to their table, despite Keima's frantic motions not to. They didn't know each other, and Asami wasn't good with crowds… yet somehow, despite his worries, the conversation flowed well and Tooru was actually pleased to have more company, and chatted with Asami and Ikumi readily… in a way, after practicing with a loud and obnoxious person like Chihiro, both of them were nice and friendly… though it was almost insane how alike they looked. Tooru pulled Keima's shirt at the elbow, where he leaned closer.

"H-how can you tell who's Ikumi-san and who's Asami-san?" Tooru whispered.

"Asami keeps her hair tied on the right, while Ikumi's is tied on the left… also, Ikumi is the one who's getting along with Chihiro…"

"Aah…" Tooru seemed relieved, "so Ikumi-san is the one in shorts and Asami-san is the one who likes skirts… that does actually make sense, personality-wise…"

While she continued popping chips into her mouth (she'd demolished that burger in 10 seconds flat, because she didn't get to eat fast food like that very often), she missed Keima looking at her, somewhat amazed.

Was she always this perceptive? He'd barely noticed the kind of clothes they'd been wearing.

"Though bweing twinsh ish awefum…" Ikumi spoke through a mouth of burger, to her sister's ire, "randomly at home, we can swap hairstyles and clothes and confuse our parents…"

That last sentence was said after she swallowed that mouthful, of course… Chihiro laughed.

"If I had a twin, that is all I would do! Though I'm surprised Asami-san would be on board with that…"

"Onee-chan is the one who actually comes up with our funnier twin pranks," Ikumi explained, getting oohhs from the other girls, as Asami waggled her eyebrows.

Keima smiled as laughter swept the table. Despite his expectations, having Asami and Ikumi joining them actually wasn't a bad idea… not that he'd tell Chihiro that…

She already had a big enough head…

It was just strange for him though… of the four girls who were surrounding him, he'd kissed three of them in the last year…

Tooru caught his eyes at the moment that thought came to his head, and he quickly looked away, his cheeks darkening. She smiled, her heart giving a little squeeze.

How adorable was he?

* * *

Asami and Ikumi ended up joining their party for the rest of the zoo visit… it was just as well, because they would have missed an amazing sight had they gone off on their own.

Namely, the giraffe from the feeding pen who ignored the bucket of giraffe biscuits which Tooru was shakily holding next to him to lick Keima with its large blue tongue and start chewing on his PFP. Anyone who had viewed that spectacular sight was reduced to crying from laughter at the boy who was begging his console to survive, barely noticing that he was drenched in saliva.

Unfortunately, it was a lost cause, and the console flickered and died, and he let out an anguished scream…

While trying not to laugh out loud, Chihiro and Tooru helped him up from the ground and walked him to the nearest restroom, with the other two girls trailing behind, trying to contain their laughter.

"I don't wanna…" Keima pouted as they stood outside the male's bathroom, "cleaning up sucks, and I want to get back to my old save point…"

"No way," Chihiro put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from skittering off, "you stink, and you have to go wash up before you get back on the train…"

"So I'll just walk home and you girls can go back on the train…" he tried to walk past Chihiro again, but her hand gripped him harder.

"I will literally follow you into this bathroom and make sure you do this properly," her voice got dangerously low to the point where even Tooru felt a chill down her spine. Chihiro was definitely brave… Keima did try some weak argument but the normal girl was having none of that, basically kicking his butt into the bathroom and holding the door shut till he was done… needless to say, Tooru found it endearing as Chihiro dug her heels into the ground and Keima banged his fist on the other side.

Still, she felt a little twinge watching Chihiro's focussed face… what was she to him?

Tooru had gotten some practice observing other people and determining their relationships, but for the life of her, she couldn't tell with these two…

At some point, Keima gave up trying to escape, so Chihiro stepped aside, still watching the door suspiciously. Tooru cautiously raised her voice.

"Err… Chihiro-san," Chihiro glanced towards the blonde, who was shuffling her feet.

"Yeah?" Tooru took a deep breath.

"A-are you and K-katsuragi-kun going out?" she asked nervously, one finger twirling in her hair. Chihiro smirked.

"Eeeehh…" Chihiro took her eyes off the door to lean into Tooru's personal space, "why do you ask?"

As expected, Tooru became even more flustered, her fingers messing with the ends of her shorts.

"N-no reason… I was just curious…" she answered in a small voice… while Chihiro's smirk made it clear that she was fooling no one, Tooru wasn't looking up. In any case, the barely-taller girl decided to give her a break.

"We aren't dating, if that's what you're wondering…" Chihiro shrugged, "we've just been friends long enough that I can mess with him whenever I want."

Tooru nodded, slightly happier with that answer… of course, Chihiro had to continue.

"He's actually single now, so if you like him, go for it…" Chihiro thumped Tooru on the shoulder.

"I-i-it's not like that!" Tooru tried to defend herself again, but Chihiro seemed to be done with the teasing now, waving her hand as she started walking back to the twins.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't… it isn't my concern, so do as you like…"

Though that was a façade Chihiro was putting on… if Tooru had seen Keima being such a baby and still liked him, there was hope for them yet, and that thought made the normal girl intensely happy.

That was the last Chihiro spoke of it, which Tooru was relieved by. Soon after that, Keima emerged out looking somewhat neater, his face still wet and droplets covering his glasses and hair, and his soiled sweater in a ball. He was still decent, with a shirt which clung to his body well enough to show his thin frame.

Chihiro smiled as she noticed Tooru giving him a once-over before turning away, blushing.

"You know they have paper towels in there for a reason," Chihiro reminded, "if you can't dry your face, at least dry your glasses."

Keima stuck his tongue out at her. On the other hand, Asami had her eyes on his sweater, which looked more like an encumbrance than anything.

"I-I think I have a bag for you," Asami muttered, digging around in her little bag. Sure enough, she brought out a heavily folded plastic bag for Keima to keep his sweater in.

"Thanks," Keima answered gratefully, "now both my hands are free so I can play my game…"

The whole group groaned, but let him do so… it must have been quite traumatic to have your console get chewed by a giraffe.

Or rather, what kind of luck did Keima even have? Which normal person has something like that happen to them at a zoo!?

* * *

It was pretty soon after that that they went home, seeing that they didn't want to get home late and they had seen all the animals (with one being more up close than Keima would have liked). On the train, Keima sat down and tried to make up for lost time, while the girls chatted amongst themselves… honestly, about the most random things… the story Tooru was aiming to write… what they enjoyed doing in their free time… how things were like in the 2-B class which Keima, Chihiro and Asami belonged in (that had been particularly amusing as one day early in the year, Ikumi had decided to swap out with her sister, and no one was any wiser)… and of course, Chihiro couldn't resist talking about the cute guy they'd met at the aviary. It was general consensus that that guy's hair looked like the fluffiest thing on the planet.

Tooru could just say one thing… this had been amazingly fun! At the start of the trip, she'd been so worried about what impression she'd make on Keima's friend… by this point, not only had she made a good enough impression, but even the two other girls who'd joined them later had become her friends too… and not once was she hit on… though that might have been because of the hat Chihiro had lent her.

It was nice… having a group of quirky friends who were happy to hang out with her and take pictures with her…

It was a sad thought, but this was the first time she'd truly felt accepted by the people around her in her seventeen years of life… which was why she was all the more determined to play as hard as she could… she didn't really know her chances of meeting these people again.

All things come to a close, and for this fun day, this was at the station, where Chihiro, Asami and Ikumi were heading one way, and Keima and Tooru the other. Even though the thought of being with Keima alone was quite exciting, she couldn't help but mourn the loss of the other girls, who she'd felt closer to in this one day than she had her classmates for this whole year.

"Thank you…" Tooru spoke sincerely to all the girls as they exited the station, "I knew I'd have fun, but I didn't expect the zoo to be this great…"

"Heh, I bet it's because I was there," Ikumi boasted, earning an elbow from her older sister.

"I had a lot of fun too…" Asami smiled, "it's actually saying a lot, because I'm not the best with dealing with people."

"Yeah, Onee-chan would rather read than have to interact with people… I had to promise her that I'd read her favourite book so that I could even get her to come with me today…"

Ikumi shivered at the thought, but Tooru was more moved than anything… having a sister would be nice…

"Though I don't see why we can't do this again," Chihiro glanced up from her phone, her one hand lazily clutching her returned wolf hat, "we can have even more fun if we changed the location… or got rid of Katsuragi here…"

Keima glared daggers at his ex, who didn't seem bothered. Though with Tooru, Chihiro had raised an intriguing idea… this didn't have to be goodbye forever… this was the reason phones existed.

"Umm, Chihiro-san," Tooru jumped forward nervously, "can I have your phone number?"

Chihiro's eyes widened at the impassioned question, her eyes catching onto Tooru's sparkling gold eyes and flying hair. She wondered if Tooru had a clue how gorgeous she was… it really seemed to be Chihiro's luck to attract beautiful people.

She pretended to think about it for a moment, before happily giving the blonde a cheerful smile.

"Of course…"

With that, it became a whole contact exchanging fest with the twins joining in, with Keima rolling his eyes on the side… despite that, he didn't leave, rather waiting for her to wave off the other girls with hearts in her eyes…

Keima fell in step with her as she hugged her phone to her chest, thinking of her first friends' numbers in her phone. Now was a great time to be alive…

Maybe Maijima Academy just had better students or something? The people in her school felt so much snootier and less friendly.

"So…" Keima spoke, and Tooru jumped slightly. In her little friend related bliss bubble, she'd forgotten he was here, "did you have fun at the zoo?"

"I diiid!" Tooru cheered, holding up her phone to the pink sky, "who knew having friends could be such fun?"

Keima gave a small smile, the thought mirroring in his own head… he'd pretty much been a loner for most of his life, and even with his mission, he only had a few allies… only after it was over did he realise the true meaning of friendship from the girls whom he considered as such.

It's about being dragged to the convenience store to get snacks after school… it's about sitting in their clubroom as they play the same song over and over… it's about looking at your phone to see random messages about God knows what and cat pictures…

And in the heavier times, they were there too… in fact, all the Goddess Hosts approached Keima to see if he was alright after him and Chihiro broke up… even though it was a very clean break, there was that hollowness that his friends had managed to fill in their own way… even Chihiro remained the friend she had been before the break-up, and he was grateful for that.

When Nagase had first asked him about his friends all those months back, he'd just given her a blank look, not really caring… boy, had he been wrong!

He pulled the phone from her hand, to her surprise. Keima laughed at her surprised face.

"What, don't you want my number too?" his mouth settled into a small smile which struck Tooru's heart.

"Y-yes please…" she looked down. After a moment, he slid the phone back in her hand.

"In any case, now that that's done…" Keima's voice became stern again, "how about we talk about your story some more…"

Tooru couldn't help but groan, even though this was the whole point of the field trip.

"Don't give me that!" Keima pulled a face, "I did not get licked by a giraffe to not make progress on your story!"

She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her gut at that image.

"Heh, maybe I can write an Aesop on why you shouldn't play games when the giraffes are a metre away from you…" she earned a glare from Keima at that.

"It's not my games… that giraffe had it in for me since it saw me…" Keima stroked his new PFP. At least it was safe from those violent mutant zebras with long necks.

"Maybe it was a girl and thought your gaming was creepy, so it wanted to get rid of it…" Tooru laughed, mirroring something Chihiro had mentioned earlier. Keima's angry look fell.

"Do you think I'm a creeper?" Keima asked, his voice surprisingly morose, even to him.

Girls thought he was creepy all the time… what was wrong with one more? Still, his stomach clenched at that thought, for some odd reason.

Though that ship kind of sailed… even if Chihiro hadn't been throwing jibes here and there, he'd pretty much reached peak level creeper after the situation with the giraffe.

"No, I don't think you're creepy," Tooru responded simply, "you just act like how you are…"

Keima stopped in his tracks, just as his heart did.

"W-what?" he faltered. Tooru gave him a sweet smile.

"I don't really mind… considering the weird personas I've taken on to turn off people who talk to me, your behaviour isn't creepy…"

Keima suddenly started sweating, finding it really hard to keep eye contact with her… what the hell was this!?

"C-clearly you need to talk to the rest of my classmates…" he spoke in a shakier voice, but Tooru seemed to have missed that, seeing she was focussing on something else.

"Maybe that giraffe is a girl, and she just wanted your attention…" Tooru perked up at the thought, "or maybe she wanted to give you a playful bite to show her affection."

"A playful bite?" Keima repeated, a little bewildered.

"You know," Tooru shrugged, "like with cats… they show their affection by nibbling their young, though not hard enough to hurt them…"

He suppressed a scoff… that was not a harmless bite! It broke his freaking PFP!

Still, he kept his cool and nodded. He did actually remember that from his research… somehow, that little reminder was setting his heart at ease too… or at least calmed it down.

Tooru misunderstood his expression of confusion though…

"Okay, maybe you've never had a cat… but just imagine this…"

They paused, and Tooru brought out a set of cat ears headband out of nowhere.

"Now I'm a cat!" Tooru declared in a cute voice, giving her ears a little flick, "just a cute cat who had a litter of kittens… and you're one of them…"

Keima was more incredulous, but he let her continue her strange live-action cat show.

"So we live happily for a while… drinking milk and curling up by the fireplace… but it's not enough. This life is too domestic for you, and you want an adventure…"

"I just wanna play my cat PFP…" Keima rolled his eyes, and while Tooru noticed, she was just happier that he played along. She went along with her story, however.

"So lil' Keima-kun goes on an adventure without his mummy, but he gets caught in the snow… of course, it's up to me to find you, and I will…"

For a good minute, Tooru looked around Keima, specifically not looking for him. Keima smiled, before stepping into her eyesight, letting her continue her narrative.

"There you are!" Tooru exclaimed with a bright smile, moving towards Keima, "I've missed you so much…"

Tooru rubbed her cheek against Keima's shirt, and he giggled… because she'd surprised him, not because he was ticklish or anything.

"Aww, and you grew a little shorter in this cold…" she yanked him down to even below her height, which was kind of a feat for Keima to hold himself in.

"I-I'll grow up soon enough!" Keima promised, and Tooru patted him on the head.

"Of course you will," she smiled fondly, "but for now, you're my kitten, and you have to stay with Mummy until you grow up."

"But I wanna have adventures and see more things," cat Keima whined. Tooru gave him a harsh look.

"No no no… just be happy that this is your only punishment now…"

And suddenly, before Keima could stop her, and before Tooru could even think about what she was doing, she bit the fleshy part of his ear… not hard, but hard enough Keima felt it.

They froze for a moment, as it finally sunk in Tooru's head as to what she'd done… she was really good at playing characters, but this…

Oh my God, she'd bit her crush's ear…

They both pulled back, nearly bumping heads as they separated. They were too shocked to even remember to not look at each other, because their red faces were apparent, even in the pink light of the sky.

"A-and… I think I'm nearly home now…" Tooru burst out, despite the fact her house was still a good ten minutes away.

"Y-yeah… I should probably head to my house too… just message me when you get home …"

"S-sure…" Tooru whipped off her ears and turned around, speed walking away as if her life depended on it… and knowing what had just happened, it kinda did!

Her eyes didn't leave the ground, and even her vision was wavering at the intense amount of blood that was occupying her face.

She'd really done it this time!

With her hasty exit and Keima rubbing his overheating ear as he watched her through the pink twilight, this concluded their third meeting.

* * *

 **Lol! That's one way to make an impression. Good going, Tooru! :D**

 **Well, there you have it... The zoo date continues, and more and more characters get added. Xellos would be proud... then tell me I could have included more characters in this scene :P**

 **Well, developments wise, Tooru realises what she feels for Keima, and Keima... loses his one true love to a giraffe xD**

 **Oh, and he's started feeling a bit weird with Tooru as well, and it only has a little to do with the ear biting at the end (btw, that's a reference to Amagami SS, if anyone's seen the anime or played the game)... so I guess we will see what happens next.**

 **That being said... I do realise I'm posting faster than most people can read or respond, so I'll be putting a few extra days between updates... it's probably for the best, because the Easter break is done, and I'll be getting busy again.**

 **That being said, I also drew a kinda crappy cover picture for this story. If you like it or have any suggestions on how I can improve it, feel free to leave a review... of course, same thing with the story itself.**

 **I will be back with the next chapter soon... keep well and enjoy the rest of your Easter...**


	4. The Girl on a Ship

**Hoo boy... it's midnight, and I'm just beginning my author's notes when I have an 8 am class later today... I'm so smart.**

 **Well, I wanted to do this today... yesterday, and I'll do it now, dammit! My body can hate me about this tomorrow.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter then. Though if the reviews are anything to go by, Tooru is a hit...**

 **Which is exactly why she will not be in this chapter :P**

 **Kay bye! I'll see you at the end *speeds off before anyone can protest***

* * *

As it appeared, the zoo wasn't actually the end of his day… rather, he was somewhat bemused as he stared at the Akanemaru, wondering why the hell Chihiro would call him here… or why now, of all times, while the stars twinkled overhead and the sea breeze blew through his hair… it felt suspiciously like an event, and Keima hadn't even gotten the time to think about how he felt about that last event from some hours earlier.

Could he even call it an event? It didn't really seem romantic, but he couldn't say it wasn't like that either… it was odd… which was quite fitting for Tooru…

But for Chihiro, it would make sense for her to set off an event, considering their previous relationship… Tooru's "event" basically came out from nowhere, and only served to confuse him. He needed the time to think about it, but first, he'd have to get through whatever flag this was, and he'd need to talk to Chihiro.

"Oi! I'm here!" Keima called as he climbed up the wooden stairs. As he turned in, he noticed Chihiro on the upper deck, her legs swinging between the railings as she leant back on her arms in tedium. Keima snorted slightly… for a normal girl, she was a little strange. She looked forward as she noticed his footfalls hit the deck.

"Ah, Katsuragi," she sat up, her bored face brightening, "how nice to see you here…"

"Well, you did ask me to come," he spoke, matter-of-factly, continuing until he was facing her… as he watched her- or at least as best he could- considering it was already dark enough that stars were starting to come out now.

It was a beautiful scene… though he couldn't really call it de ja vu, considering that both of them had experienced something like this before.

"Or rather, why did you call me here?" Chihiro smiled, as if expecting the question.

Well, it wasn't like she was in the dark about what had happened in that week she'd lost her memories… she knew her first kiss was apparently on this ship, and she also remembered what had happened with Ayumi here, so the significance of his question wasn't lost to her. It was also the reason why she never brought Keima back to the Akanemaru since then.

In fact, she'd chosen this place exactly for that particular reason…

"I couldn't think of any place better to have this discussion," she shrugged, looking up at the sails, "it is the place to kill all romances, after all."

That was a morbid thought, but she wasn't really wrong… maybe her first kiss had taken place here, but she also lost her memories around then, meaning that it was basically for nothing… and in Ayumi's case, seeing her best friend kiss the boy she loved was pretty bitter too… and it didn't really do much for Ayumi either, considering who Keima decided to confess to.

It wasn't the ship's fault that Chihiro had made that kind of bittersweet association to it, but there wasn't much she could do to change that…

One might even say that… that ship had sailed…

"Why are you laughing like that?" Keima asked, surprised by the sudden peal of laughter that left the girl's mouth.

"Sorry, sorry…" she waved him off, her smile more like she normally was, "I just thought of a joke…"

"Of course you'd find humour in killing romances," Keima interjected, but the smile on his face was more of fondness, rather than the annoyance he should feel. Romantic relationships weren't something he'd joke about, after all, killing them or otherwise.

He waited till she fell silent to ask his question.

"When you talk of killing romances, what do you mean there?" he asked, his eyes closely monitoring her actions and reactions. He'd learnt fairly early on in their relationship to not always take her words at face value, but take it with her body language, as sometimes that said more. She hesitated for a moment, before pulling her eyes off him and looking up at the sky, leaning on the hands splayed behind her.

Keima's eyes narrowed… so she was about to lie… or she didn't want him to be able to read her face.

"I'm not killing any romance, per se… in fact, more correctly, I'm actually trying to build up a new romance," she looked back down at Keima, her face giving away nothing.

Keima chuckled… whether he liked it or not, the girl knew him very well.

"Fine fine…" he raised up his hands, "stop with the poker face and I'll stop trying to analyse you."

An identical smile came to Chihiro's face. So they were on the same page now.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Katsuragi," she answered, but the twinkle in her eye said anything but that, "but seeing that you're willing to do that, I'd appreciate if you'd come sit next to me and we can have a leisurely discussion. You can just consider what I say as it comes…"

That was kind of what she wanted anyway… she didn't really want to be caught in a lie here.

"It's not really a switch I can turn off though," he mumbled under his breath as he carefully walked up the stairs. Whether she heard it or not, Chihiro didn't comment, her eyes just following him as he sat down, leaving a decent amount of space between them.

"So," Keima turned to her, "what is this about exactly?"

"I was just curious… how do you feel about Tooru-chan?"

Keima wasn't one to jump in surprise, but that question certainly raised an eyebrow with him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just answer the question first!" she shot back. Keima sighed.

"She's a nice enough girl, but I'm only helping her with her story," he leant his head forward against the pole ahead of him.

"That's all?"

"Yeah…" he glanced up to Chihiro staring him down sceptically.

"So you have no other relation with her?" she tried again.

"Not really… or not that she knows of…" he mumbled the last part under his breath… but it seemed that the girl's ears were sharp enough to catch that.

"So there is something else?" she spoke more confidently now.

"Well, she was one of the girls who had a Loose Spirit… she forgot, and we only met up again last Thursday…"

There was that sad lilt that Chihiro had heard in his voice before… while he very rarely spoke about his time on the Loose Spirit Squad, other than the questions Chihiro asked, it took her a while to even pick that up, and she wasn't sure if he even noticed it…

One thing was apparent though… maybe she didn't know all the girls whom he'd had to "conquer", but he did still think about them… she doubted it could be easy for him to make some girl fall in love with him, then just walk away after the kiss, knowing that the next time they saw him, they wouldn't have a clue who he was, or how they'd felt for him.

"How long ago was she possessed by that Loose Spirit?" she asked, trying to get a grip on the time.

"6th of May," he spoke automatically, "it might have earlier than that, but that was the day I met her, and she saved my life…"

Chihiro's eyes widened with concern at that last part, but Keima quickly quelled that with an explanation that it wasn't demons who had attacked him, but rather, his own passion compelling him to run back to the café which had been on fire to save his games.

Without hesitation, Chihiro slapped him upside the head.

"You're an idiot!" she told him in a flat voice while he held onto his head.

"There was a really good doujin game which only had 100 copies which was in that bag… like hell I'd let one of those get destroyed!" he yelled back, but the normal girl seemed to be done with her burst of anger now.

"So… what happened after that?" she urged him to continue.

"She came to the hospital I was at and I met her on the roof, only for Eri's skull to tell us she was possessed… after that, I mostly had to look for her and find out what might have been the cause of the gap, but she was quite secretive, and hid behind her mask of an angel. Only after I found out her family situation and discovered what was hidden behind that mask could I conquer her… and that's basically it…"

Chihiro nodded… not that she was savvy on how the whole Loose Spirit extraction worked, but it was clear that whatever the ending was, it was romantic.

"But she forgot, right?" she said as an afterthought. Keima nodded slowly.

In a way, the girls forgetting about him was the perfect fit… for him who used galge methods to romance real girls, it was fitting that the end of each romance ended with the girls forgetting so he could start his New Game+ while he kept the save file in his heart. The protagonist was supposed to save the heroine, and he always knew that.

But after some point, it stopped being a game. His romantic routes started having repercussions to his world and the girls around him and he wasn't able to blow it off with the same flippantness he could before.

Above all, he learnt… how they struggled against the world, and what worries they held… about their ideals and how they aimed to reach them… about how they changed after the gap was filled, even if they didn't remember.

Like Tooru… it had been such a relief to see her that first day. Around the time he'd first met her, she had two fairly distinct personas… the beautiful and free angel, and the strict and unsmiling, almost business-like woman… she was different now.

"it's not bad that they forget," Keima shrugged, "they move on a lot more easily if they're not thinking about me, so it is for the best."

And if seeing her on that first day taught him anything… seeing her somewhat goofy smile as she lay against a tree, reading a book while her jester hat perched precariously on her head… he was happy to see her move on and find whatever made her happy, rather than thinking about her parents.

"I see…" Chihiro gave him a look, "so you're not bothered that most of the girls you've kissed have forgotten that you did it?"

"Why would I be?" he noted Chihiro swinging back on her arms, rather than looking at him, "I get to fulfil all the romances I want, without the pain of having to see it through forever."

"Calling bullshit on that," Chihiro answered, not even bothering to turn to him, "you can say whatever you want, but I refuse to believe that you prefer the end being at where the relationship properly begins."

Keima shrugged.

"That's the norm in games, and you're surely not calling bullshit that I like how games work," he shrugged, his eyes staring up at the same night sky she was looking at, "It's normal that the game skips from after the relationship to when they get married. That's where the happy end is."

"Why is that though?" Chihiro stopped swinging on the metal poles so she could look at him for his answer, "that doesn't really seem like an ending point so much as a beginning of something else…"

"Maybe in real life," he scoffed, "most people who enjoy galge just want to overcome the hurdles which stand between the protagonist and the girl, rather than live a happy but boring life alongside her."

Of course, that kind of response just sent one of Chihiro's eyebrows towards the stars.

"I know the getting together part is awesome, but if all you're doing is playing 1000 scenarios where the game ends there… that doesn't really sound like a happy ending for you as a gamer, you know?"

"Well, I'm happy," Keima retorted, crossing his arms, "there's no further input needed from the player after that, so it's fine to step away then."

"What are you talking about?" Chihiro insisted, "that's only the beginning of the best part, and gamers don't even want to see that th‒"

"A real happy ending doesn't exist, okay!" Keima burst out, his controlled emotions breaking loose at his frustration, "the start of the relationship is a good time to end a story, because with inertia, you can at least imagine that they're with each other for eternity!"

For a moment, the two teens sat stunned, their eyes just watching each other, long since used to the lack of light. It took a few moments for Chihiro to work through what he'd been saying, and the subtext behind it. Keima's surprise was more that he'd admitted that at all. Keima suddenly looked away, avoiding her questioning eyes.

Keima loving the game world wasn't anything new… him even liking the concept of a happy end in a game wasn't even that odd… yet somehow, he was reluctant to go any further than that, because the real offered no guarantees for relationships to continue on forever…

He'd… been thinking about her, wasn't he? Or about them…

She frowned. Keima didn't miss that change, but it didn't make much sense for him. She was the one to continue, however.

"So basically… you'd prefer stepping away after the kiss, rather than seeing what the future holds…" Keima half-smiled. It was an interesting conclusion to make of the 8 odd months he'd been in the Loose Spirit Squad. In a way, it was quite easy to compare it to a galge, the kind of game he was the most comfortable with. It was after the formula changed that he started encountering real problems with the girls, and discovering just how much they differed from the girls in galge…

Of how they were more effortlessly fleshed out without needing any particular back story… of how his relationship with them was only one of many that they cared about… of how he could only be in their lives as much as they allowed. Their world continued on, even without any input from him.

"Reality is best left alone," Keima gave a forced laugh which tapered off quickly, "although I've known that from the start."

"Can I ask why you say that?" Chihiro asked gently.

"In reality, the happy end doesn't really exist," he shrugged, as if to show that it didn't bother him, "I mean, you can try, but relationships and love are fragile things which can break with the most minor event… even marriage, the best of best ends, isn't a guarantee for happiness, or for the two people involved to stay together."

Chihiro opened her mouth, but Keima held up a finger.

"And say one does overcome all the odds and stay together for life… life ends too, and someone will be depressed… there's so much shitty stuff in this world that pursuing a real romance seems counterintuitive."

"On the contrary," Chihiro interjected, "I think that's all the more reason to want a real romance."

"And why is that?"

"Because if all this shitty stuff is going to happen, at least you will have someone who you can rely on and who'll listen to you complain…"

By this point, all their shifting had stopped, and the two teens were watching each other again.

"And what if being with the other person is the issue itself?"

"Then you talk it out… relationships are worth fighting for, but if there really is no way of fixing it, then it's alright to break up," Chihiro turned away from him to look back on the deck, "besides, even if there are bad times to overcome, there are a lot more good times, or times where nothing is happening, and they're worth the fight."

"Okay," Keima nodded, "you've made your case… however, I don't understand what you're making it for…"

Honestly, this conversation was all over the place, and Keima did have an inkling as to what she might be getting at… however, he didn't want to misunderstand here.

"Oh yes," Chihiro turned to him, "I want you to get together with Tooru-chan."

It took three beats for that to enter Keima's head completely, and even then, it was bizarre.

"Sorry, what?"

"Having observed you guys all day, I think you guys would make a good couple, and as your friend, I want you to consider that as a possibility."

Keima's eye twitched. This was why she called him at this time and place… to push him towards another girl?

"You know you could have done this on the phone… or during the daytime… or in a less meaningful place…" Keima sighed, "it didn't even feel like that last conversation had anything to do with Tooru at all…"

"You're right," Chihiro agreed seriously, "it had to do with you."

"And… why do I need a pep talk?" he asked.

"Because you're hopeless and I need you to forget about me," she replied quietly, her face straight ahead. Keima turned around to look at her, surprised at the sudden change.

"Forget about you?" he repeated.

"I don't get it," Chihiro didn't seem to hear him, "when we broke up, I was near certain you'd go out with one of the other girls who still liked you, but even then, you rejected anyone who asked… Do you know how difficult Yui was for that week!?"

For that last part, she turned her head to Keima, the annoyance plainly written on her face.

"I'm sorry," he lifted his hands, "I just didn't like her like that."

He froze as she glared him down.

"You play so many games with girls… why is it still that you have no clue how to love a person in a romantic sense?"

For a moment, Keima just looked at her... did she not even realise that she was the first person he wanted to love?

For the few days Keima had locked himself in his room after having saved the Goddesses, Chihiro kept popping up in his thoughts, sending a dull ache in his heart. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what the exact emotion he was feeling was… it wasn't like games spoon-fed the feelings to the players, and the protagonist never talked about them any more than the few normal tell-tale signs of being in love… the sped up heart and the clammy palms and the butterflies.

Love was supposed to be a happy and exciting feeling… yet all he felt was guilt and dread at the thought of seeing her face again, and not being able to fix anything with her.

The thoughts didn't do much other than take a back seat when he was in the past. However, meeting her as a child was enough to throw off his already teetering brain over the edge. He wanted to talk to her… apologise… tell her he did care… tell her that it wasn't impossible for him to like her, because she already occupied his thoughts more than any real girl had…

But whether it was love or not, he didn't know… not when he confessed to her, nor the entire time he was in a relationship with her… he'd certainly enjoyed her presence, and he didn't mind the dates as the kissing, but from what he'd learnt from his games, he didn't quite feel that it was the real thing…

It was quite possible he had his expectations too high, but Chihiro did seem to notice the missing link as well, and of course, had to pester him about it… after he came clean to her about his uncertainties, they broke up… at least until he could learn to understand his feelings.

Her words were as ironic as they were true, and he still didn't have any better an answer for Chihiro… he didn't even understand why she was trying to push him towards Tooru, when there was still the matter of her own feelings that she hadn't brought up since that day.

But first… why didn't he experience romantic love in the real world?

"How should I know!?" Keima responded defensively, "the worlds are so different and I've only recently started caring for the real world…" he suddenly turned to Chihiro, "I don't see you caring so much about your own feelings, so why do you care about mine!?"

When she fell back, her face turning a slight pink, Keima scoffed.

"Why are you even so okay with handing me over to some other girl? Or do you really see so little hope in our relationship that you'd rather have someone else have to endure me?"

"Of course not," Chihiro snapped, "but I know better than to wait for a guy who's gone out with me for four months and still doesn't understand what I feel."

Even though she didn't intend for it, Keima gave her a long look.

"I do understand how you feel…" he answered softly, "you used to tell me a lot."

"No, you know how I feel," she corrected, but her voice was still hard, "but if you haven't experienced the feeling, you won't ever understand."

"Okay, fine…" Keima sighed, "if you really doubt me ever falling for you, why aren't you supporting Ayumi or Yui? I could possibly end up falling for them."

Chihiro gave him an obvious look.

"Because I've never seen you give Yui or Ayumi the look I saw you gave Tooru-chan at the zoo," she raised an eyebrow. As she suspected, Keima just gave her a confused look.

"Different how?"

"I dunno…" she scratched her head, "you were just more involved and animated than I've ever seen you in a conversation… rather than just listening and inputting, you looked genuinely interested in what she had to say."

"So I put my PFP away," Keima scoffed, "I can talk to anyone properly if I have to."

"Exactly," she retorted, motioning to him, "you didn't have to, and yet you did."

"That proves nothing… I'm talking to you right now, and I don't have my PFP out," he pointed out. Chihiro gave him a look.

"If she's a total stranger, why the hell would you take her to the zoo!?" Chihiro tried from a different route.

"Because I was helping her with her story and she wanted to look at animals." He answered obviously, "and I just invited you because she asked for a female friend."

"Sheesh, you don't get it!" Chihiro looked at him frustrated, "she doesn't have a Loose Spirit, so why did you even talk to her in the first place… then volunteer yourself to help with her story… then take her to the zoo… then go through the trouble of inviting me… and all for someone who's basically a stranger?"

"She had a‒"

"I'm already calling bullshit on your reason," Chihiro didn't let him finish, "you missed her and just wanted a reason to stay in contact."

For a moment, Keima stopped paying attention to his ex's irritated face, suddenly seeing the much cuter blonde in front of him, a blush on her face from having bitten his ear, which started glowing hot again. That feeling was coming back.

"W-what are you on!?" Keima asked Chihiro, his voice shaking a bit too much to sound irritated, "I had a reason why I'd help her."

Chihiro didn't miss how he got flustered… or the appealing pink that was starting to stain his cheeks. She smirked.

"Pray tell… what was it then?"

He was saved having to answer, as his phone beeped. Of course, the obnoxiously curious side of Chihiro had to see it. He was powerless as she plucked the object out of his hands, as she had done quite a few times… though mostly with his PFP when he was playing on dates.

"You know you can't do that, right!?" Keima protested, but Chihiro held the phone out of his reach, opening his email.

A huge smile came to her face as she saw the sender, but that moment gave Keima the time to grab it back before she read further.

"You're emailing Tooru-chan?" Chihiro waggled her eyebrows, as Keima pushed her away.

"I am, and that isn't any reason for you to get happy," he stood up, "she is a friend and I don't have a crush on her…"

"Of course you don't," Chihiro got up to her feet, "because some way or another, you're already starting to fall in love with her."

The wind blew alongside those words, mussing up Keima's hair… but he didn't seem to notice, his brain still trying to process the words.

He had considered it odd… how on the day he saw her again, he couldn't take his eyes off her… how after he spoke to her, he was so willing to jump aboard and help her… how he got Chihiro involved without even hesitating, because that was what Tooru asked… and how natural it felt talking to her… games, Aesop's fables or even random roleplaying scenarios…

It had taken him a while to get comfortable with the other girls, yet Tooru's strange yet endearing ways made her easier to talk to… he liked that…

His heart clenched as he remembered Tooru's face, mere inches from him as she pulled away after that ear-biting thing, and it became clear… the distance hadn't made him prickle… having her that close was embarrassing, but not in the way he really hated.

"You're starting to realise it now, aren't you?" Chihiro's voice broke through his thoughts, and he blushed, "Gah, that's adorable!"

"Go away, Chihiro!" he stuffed his phone in his pocket as he started heading down the stairs. As much as she liked the idea of teasing him until he admitted it out loud, she stopped herself.

"Hey, Katsuragi," she called once he was by the stairs. He paused as a jerk reaction to his name.

"Regardless of what decision you make, I'm always behind you…" Chihiro spoke. He turned back to see a smile on her face.

"You're okay with this," he paused, "if nothing happens between you and me?" she smiled broadly.

"Of course… I think she'll make you happy, and that's all I want," for a moment, Keima gave her a concerned look.

"What about you, Chihiro?" he asked, his gaze burning her for the moment that they met. She looked away, a fake smile emerging.

"I'll be alright… I caught that cute guy's name while we were at the zoo, so I'm going to search if he's on Facebook."

She let out a convincing enough laugh that Keima dropped it, the concerned look changing to a grateful one. Most exes weren't this easy-going or selfless.

Glancing at his phone, a smile appeared on his face when he saw Tooru's name. His fingers were itching to open it, but he wanted to be alone, even for the moment.

"Thank you," he continued to walk off the ship, pressing the button as he stepped off the final steps so he could have a look at the email.

Chihiro's smile fell, and the eyes she'd squeezed shut as she was smiling opened, revealing a somewhat sad expression.

"Ah well…" she scratched her head as she looked at the sails, which were billowing slightly from the sea breeze, "this place is the one to kill romance…"

"Oi, Chihiro!" she turned back to the pier, where Keima pressed his phone shut, "let me walk you home."

For a moment, she hesitated, but she went down to his side, taking his offer.

"Eh, aren't you going to reply to her email?" she asked.

"I've already read it,' Keima shook his head, "she can wait a few more minutes for a reply…"

"Heeeehh… you're playing hard-to-get, Katsuragi?" she nudged him teasingly, "you know it isn't a very good method for getting girls…"

"Maybe if you hurried your ass up, I could reply faster…"

Behind the broad smiles Chihiro put up, she could feel real warmth in her heart… maybe Keima didn't love her, but he doubted he'd stop caring about her anytime soon…

* * *

 **Ah, yes... more character development... and Chihiro being a good friend and relinquishing Keima to Chihiro, who it seems she has decided to go all in and support Tooru and Keima, even if it involves lecturing the latter to get his head working and realise that this thing with Tooru might be the real deal. I kinda liked how this conversation came out, and hopefully, things will be a little bit different with Tooru from the next chapter.**

 **That being said... reviews :)**

 **Between posting up this the last chapter and now, my reviews have more than doubled, so thank you, guys. I will get cracking with the answers now...**

 **Guest:** I'm glad you think Asami needs a story... I agree, and I have to ask when you'll be writing it :P

It also better have some lewd handholding :P

 **xellos540:** How nice to see your long reviews again... I kind of imagine you probably scrolled the page up and down a lot to voice your randomly amusing thoughts as you had them.

Keima indeed had his long script, and Tooru, despite how daunting it was, isn't against reading it... I just thought it was a nice thing to add about her... also, she scuffs the ground when nervous... I wonder if she plays with her cross necklace as well.

Ooh, and the zoo... I really liked the zoo part as well. It was amazing fun to write, and I didn't actually expect Tooru, Asami and Ikumi to actually be good company for each other with how different they were. It worked though...

Though you liking my portrayal of Chihiro was humbling. I'm hoping you got to enjoy more of her here.

Also... sting rays are awesome! in general, any huge fish in an aquarium is especially impressive, and might even soften the hardest of game-obsessed hearts

That being said... I kinda tackled both reviews, but in my half delusional 1:30 am fog, I don't know if I responded to everything... sorry if I didn't, and feel free to ask again

 **Guest:** Ooh, an Asami fan... I will hope alongside of you that she gets some love... but yeah, this story is Keima and Tooru, and they honestly have a really good feeling here... I wonder if it's from canon or I just started shipping it as I wrote it? :P

 **ZelgadisGW:** I snorted the first time I read that joke... especially because most girls are some level of bisexual IRL... but yeah, I think Chihiro knows a beautiful girl when she sees one, considering how many of them she attracts.

I hope you enjoyed the novel as well :)

 **Well, that's kinda it for reviews... well, beyond me wondering if the 3 guest reviews are from the same person... not that it's really such a big deal, though I'd like it if you reviewed with a name.**

 **So yeah... I hope you enjoyed and will stay tuned for my next midnight post (which I'm sure will happen again). Till then, stay safe and leave me reviews... even at 1:30 am, they make me smile.**


	5. The Girl and her Milkshake

**Hey again, guys. I'm back with more Tooru... and now, actually featuring Tooru... I feel like after the past chapter, I actually have to say this.**

 **Yes, this chapter will be back to focus on Keima and Tooru, and where things will go next with their writing adventures.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it.**

* * *

For the next few days, there wasn't any contact between Keima and Tooru beyond their emails. With discussing possible story ideas and writing drafts, it was an easy enough way of communicating… just, it didn't hold a candle to actually being in his presence, hearing his voice or watching his intelligent eyes. Though it did make things a bit less awkward after the ear biting incident, so things were more or less as they were before.

Which was why she was so excited for this day. It was Wednesday, one day before the completion day, and the day she was going to meet up with Keima to discuss her story further. She had her most recent draft ready and placed neatly in a folder in her bag, which was near her room door.

The girl herself was standing in front of her dressing table, brushing out a kink in her hair. Other than that, she could vouch that she did look cute enough… she had her hair tied up in a messy ponytail (well, that was the look she was going for, if anyone asked,), fake glasses, and a baggy Sonic shirt… the perfect balance of being nerdy enough that normal guys might be turned off, and mainstream enough that nerds would rather focus their attention elsewhere. Her lower half was adorned with white short shorts and ankle length sneakers, which completed the cute nerd look that she was trying for… she was only hoping for one person's attention, and that was the guy she was going to meet today…

Except a chill ran down her spine as she remembered where… it was Café Grandpa, the establishment located adjacent to his house, where both Keima's mother and sister worked.

When asked about it, she'd agreed without thinking, but the more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. It was very possible that she'd meet Keima's family, and that was a whole other level from the friends she'd met that day at the zoo.

Still, stronger than any nerves was the feeling of her heart swelling at the thought of seeing Keima again. She'd never had any crushes since the time she'd learnt how boys looked at her, so this feeling was a very new one for her… a little scary and exciting.

But because it was Keima… she actually didn't mind that. He was different from all the boys she saw normally… both in how he acted and thought, and in the way he treated her.

She glanced over her shoulder to the bag which lay on her unmade bed, a smile coming to her face.

Story or not, she was certainly getting interested vibes from him lately, even if he didn't try flirting the same way she did (admittedly, she wasn't sure if he'd notice it, considering that she sucked at it). Of course, she wouldn't really be certain until she could speak to him in person, which was why she'd been hurrying to dress up and leave to the address he'd sent.

As she walked to pick up her bags and various items, a single thought buzzed around in her head, a little louder than the thoughts she'd been writing about the whole week.

'I can't wait to see you.'

* * *

Tooru opted for entering the café just as she would deal with a bandaid… as quickly as possible, and to only cry if someone pulled out her hair. Well, considering the kind of person Keima was, she doubted that any of his family would do that, but she was a girl… she couldn't really stop herself thinking about the worst case scenario.

Of course, her thoughts took a back seat as the bell tinkled overhead. It was a quiet day at the café, which brought more attention to her from the lady behind the counter, who greeted and waved. She took a deep breath before looking around to see if she could see Keima in the few people who were seated… no such luck.

"Are you looking for someone?" the orange-haired lady asked. With no better choice, Tooru walked to the counter, looking a little sheepish.

"I-I'm looking for Katsuragi-kun," she spoke softly, "is he here today?"

"He is," the lady smiled, indicating to the door leading inside the house, "I don't think he's come down yet, but you can sit down while I call him."

She indicated to one of the empty booths, where Tooru sat down nervously, her hands fidgeting with the menu. The woman chuckled internally… this wasn't the first time she'd seen a girl being shy at the thought of meeting Keima. Her attention was taken for a moment by one of the regulars calling her, but afterwards, she made her way to the shy teenage girl again.

"Can I take your order?" she asked brightly. Tooru had to repress the urge to jump.

"A-a strawberry milkshake, please…" Tooru responded, not looking up. The smile on the lady's face only got broader.

"Good choice," she promptly returned to the counter to make the drink, "I'm Mari, by the way… Keima's mother."

Tooru stiffened again, but Mari didn't see it.

"So are you a friend of El-chan as well?" Mari asked kindly. Luckily, Tooru's booth was close enough that she didn't have to speak too loudly to reach her.

"I-i haven't met her yet," Tooru spoke shyly. She kind of wished she could make a stronger impression, but she had enough trouble with her classmates… fat chance she'd be instantly comfortable speaking with her crush's mother. Luckily, Mari continued, not bothered by her awkwardness.

"Ah, you should meet her," Mari smiled warmly, "she's a lot more easy-going and sociable than my son… which is what I would say if I hadn't already met the girls that he was friends with…"

Tooru's curiosity piqued at that. So it wasn't just the three girls Keima had met up with in the zoo?

"Are there a lot of them?" she asked, this time not stuttering. Her curiosity had made her braver, it seemed.

"I'd say," Mari laughed, "he already gets along with El-chan's friends and bandmates and Tenri-chan, our neighbour… but even outside of that, there's also Tsukiyo-chan and Shiori-chan... oh, and Kanon-chan… man, if she'd removed that hat while she'd been here, I'm pretty sure half of Maijima would have come in here for coffee that day."

Tooru laughed alongside Mari, but her stomach felt both heavy and empty at the same time. Chihiro-san had joked about Keima's infamy in school, but this wasn't infamy…

If half a dozen girls would come looking for him at his house, he clearly was more popular than Chihiro-san gave him credit for. And a name like Ka‒

"Waah!" Tooru suddenly yelped, "Do you mean Nakagawa Kanon-chan, the idol?" Mari nodded.

"I was surprised as well…" she laughed, "but her and Kei-chan were apparently going out, by the rumours that were following them…"

"Were they?" Tooru tried not to sound too eager. Luckily, Mari was too absorbed in making the drink that she didn't notice any change in the blonde's tone or face.

"Can't say I know," Mari shrugged her shoulders, "Keima claimed it was just a rumour, but he was already going out with Chihiro-chan, so…"

It took a moment for that last line to sink in… more than just being popular with the girls in his school, he had a girlfriend as well?

No wonder it had been so easy for him to just call Chihiro and invite her for a day out…

It took a few moments of her brain running wild for logic to settle in and remind herself of what had happened at the zoo. Chihiro had said that he was single and that they weren't going out, and she wouldn't have any reason to lie… or why else would she push Tooru towards him? So… had they actually been going out before, or was Mari just mistaken?

Tooru's eyes followed Mari as she placed down the desert and scooped up the tray. A small part of the mother kind of wished she could talk to the girl a bit further, but she could read body language well enough that she knew that wasn't what the girl needed now.

"Oh yes, I said I was going to call him," Mari reminded herself out loud, before she headed for the door leading inside the house, "pleas enjoy your milkshake… err…"

Tooru groaned, realising that she hadn't introduced herself at all.

"Tooru… Amami Tooru," she spoke, luckily her voice not betraying the internal cringe that had beset her heart, "I'm sorry for not saying that sooner."

Luckily, Mari smiled kindly, figuring out that it was more of a case of nerves that was making her apologise like that.

"Kei-chan will be here before you know it, Tooru-chan," she assured before she stepped inside the house. Those words made the blonde's stomach flip slightly. What was she going to say to him when he gets here? Should she just stick to the plan and just talk about her story, or try and confirm if what his mother had been saying was true…

Did it even matter if he was a ladies' man? On some counts, she was a dude magnet as well, and it hardly was anything she enjoyed… it might be that Keima was the same.

As she mulled it over, she started drinking the milkshake, her thoughts suddenly breaking as the sweet liquid touched her tongue.

"Wow!" she mouthed, looking into the glass with wonder in her eyes, "what's in this drink?"

"A miracle," a male voice responded jokingly. Tooru's eyes widened before she glanced up, seeing the person she was here to see in the first place, responding from the door where his mother had left from less than a minute before, "but mostly strawberry syrup and ice cream."

Tooru struggled to swallow as her eyes followed the boy, her thoughts coming to a complete standstill, which she was fairly certain had nothing to do with how amazing the milkshake was.

"Hi, Tooru," he greeted, smiling. Tooru felt her heart skip for a second… if it was the adorable smile or hearing him call her by name, she wasn't really sure… all she knew was that it was music to her ears, and she wanted to hear it again. Though it wasn't something you could really ask for…

Tooru's palms started sweating as he approached the table. She did know that he was going to be sitting next to her, but no amount of mental preparation was going to help her, it seemed… dammit!

Keima sat himself opposite her, which was a bit of a relief for her heart… as was the sip of strawberry goodness that she took.

"H-how are you doing, Katsuragi-kun?" she asked, trying not to look directly in his eyes.

"Quite well, thanks. I finished my backlog, so I ended up replaying all the animal themed galge I had in my shelves… but never mind that… how has your work on your Aesops been?"

Tooru's face fell slightly as she shrugged.

"I did complete one, but it doesn't feel like my best work…" she reluctantly opened her book to the page before placing it in front of Keima. The boy raised an eyebrow, but peered into it.

 _THE CROCODILE AND THE PLOVER_

 _A Crocodile waits patiently as a Plover cleans his teeth, when a vindictive thought occurs to him. Why not eat the bird and use the time saved to bask in the sun for longer? Without a second thought, he does so. Word spreads amongst the plovers, and they become too afraid to assist the crocodiles. While the plovers found a new source for their food, the crocodiles' teeth rot without the necessary cleaning._

 _DON'T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU_

Keima raised an eyebrow… she considered this bad? Admittedly, he would use a different moral, instead of a proverb, but this was an insightful story, both in moral and the actual research which went into it.

"Did we actually talk about the Egyptian Plover at the zoo?" Keima asked, his tone a little amazed. Tooru shook her head.

"It was actually in your stack of notes about animals, and I thought that sounded quite interesting…" she frowned, "but this feels too cliché for me… I'm pretty sure there's a story with this exact moral."

"W-we'll get to that," Keima brushed the second part off, "did you actually read everything I prepared for you?"

"Well, yeah…" Tooru shrugged casually, "I've had three days, and that's the reason you gave it to me in the first place…"

Keima felt his heart warm for a moment by that casual action… after his game scenario stack with Chihiro, he'd kind of expected that no one would read a whole ream of papers, except Shiori… but he did already know that Tooru was definitely not a normal person.

"In any case," Keima continued, trying not to let his thoughts dwell in that direction, "your story is pretty good… can I ask why you don't like your story?"

"I don't really know…" Tooru pulled a face as her fingers played with the straw of her milkshake, "it's… like… too stereotypical for an Aesop… I wanted to try something different."

For a millisecond, his thoughts returned back to Shiori and her writing crutch, which was inconclusive space fantasies of characters she admired, but ultimately didn't know enough of to actually complete the novel. Until Shiori knew exactly what she wanted to write and what it meant to her, writing had been impossible for her too… luckily, he knew better now.

"Okay, another question," Keima held up a hand, "in more exact terms, what do you want out of this story that you are trying to write?"

For a moment, Tooru continued to sip on her milkshake, her slender fingers playing with the straw. Somehow, that seemed like the right question, as it was clearing up the fuzziness that had been plaguing her head for some days.

"I want to write a story about animals with an important lesson that no one else has done," Tooru replied, this much clear to her, "while I do think the lesson I wrote is valuable and the moral is unambiguous, it doesn't…" she clenched her hands into a fist, trying to word out why it bothered her, "I don't know…"

Keima raised an eyebrow at her drooping expression. This situation honestly wasn't all that different from the story Shiori had attempted all those months ago… although she didn't have a go-to genre like the librarian did.

His lips turned up slightly… there was some familiarity here…

"I think I may have a solution for you," Keima replied thoughtfully, "what if you were to write an Aesop about yourself?"

She gave him a lost look as a response.

"Like something that you've learnt lately, which you'd want to share… or maybe something that you learnt about yourself which you'd like to teach others?" he smiled, "basically, an Aesop only you can write."

She stared at him for a moment as she absorbed his words… a story only she could write… a story that she could be proud of to present in front of Keima…

"H-honestly, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Tooru replied shyly, suddenly embarrassed at the thought of writing for him.

For a guy who was quite used to helping girls with their problems, he couldn't help but noticed the skip in his heartbeat as he looked at Tooru. That was somewhat different from when he'd been helping Shiori or any of the other girls.

"T-that's good then," Keima declared as he flipped the pad to a new page, attempting to do that to his brain as well, "how about you jot some ideas down after you finish your milkshake, and if you need someone to listen, I'll be right here?"

Tooru looked down at her half-full glass, her eyes following the pink concave which would sink lower with each sip… something she'd learnt, huh?

Well, she did pick up a lot at school, but she was on break till her next year began… but trigonometric equations didn't really make for good life lessons…

She sighed, the pink in her vision sinking into her mind… a budding flower… a growing love…

This was the first time she'd felt like this… was there no lesson she picked up from here? A less abstract way of explaining the feeling, maybe? Or maybe how she should confess?

Tooru pulled a face… how could she hope to write a story on that when she didn't know the answer herself. She was a lover of abstract thoughts, and having feelings for him was basically that… his presence disturbing her thoughts, her breaths and her heartbeat, yet that intrusion felt like the most natural response for her to have. Maybe Keima wasn't the most handsome boy Tooru had met, but she wanted to see his face all the time and see what expressions would appear on them.

Why she felt like that, or why him, of all people, was questions Tooru didn't know… logicking her feelings was something she considered impossible right now. She sighed, as she nudged the straw between her fingers,

"What are you thinking about?" Keima asked, a little surprised at her rapidly changing facial expressions.

"Love," she blurted without thinking, immediately regretting it as Keima gave her a look. Why did she seem to drop her guard when she was around Keima!? Another question she didn't have any logical answer to...

"Love?" Keima mulled it over, as Tooru started flapping her hands, as if to deflect the question.

"W-well, not like I h-have someone I lo‒" she continued stupidly, but Keima put her out of her misery.

"I see... is that your idea for your next Aesop?" he interjected, possibly being so involved in his thoughts that he missed what Tooru had said.

"Err…" relief washed over her body in a wave, "it's a good idea, right?"

"It truly depends on the execution, but it's very different from other Aesops and it definitely has the potential to be a good story, especially if it's written about you…"

Tooru's heart couldn't handle that casual compliment, which sent a fresh wave of redness to her face.

"Y-you think?" she struggled out, before taking a big sip of milkshake to moisten her suddenly dry throat.

"Of course," Keima responded without hesitation, "and if your draft was anything to work by, you're a talented writer."

By this point, Tooru was so pink that she'd give the milkshake in front of her a ride for its money… she resisted the urge to pick up the cold glass and hold it against her cheek.

"T-thank you," she muttered, tucking a lock of air behind her ear. Keima felt his breath catch for a moment at that simple motion, before his eyes fell on her appearance… she wasn't wearing anything outrageous today…

But that wasn't the reason he felt his mouth dry, though… well, maybe partially.

"So… uhh…" Keima snapped himself out of his thoughts, getting back to the task at hand, "have you thought of which romantic lessons you would like to impart on your readers?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Tooru didn't look up from the table, seeing that this wasn't supposed to be how she'd planned her story… she didn't have any romance lessons to tell, let alone ones which have never been told before. With a sigh, she laid her head on the table.

She could safely say she sucked at romance… she still hadn't told him, nor was she completely friendly… she didn't know what Keima had made of that ear-biting incident on Sunday, and she was too frightened to bring it up more than it had come up already.

Someone who hadn't even had her first kiss had no right to guide anyone in terms of romance. In fact, someone should be making Aesops to guide her…

"K-katsuragi-kun…" Tooru sat up again weakly, trying to avoid Keima's eyes that were following her, "I don't think I'll be able to‒"

Her voice cut off for a moment as her attempt to not keep eye contact with him failed, and she was trapped by his gorgeous brown eyes again. She felt the calmness behind those eyes pass to her in some connection she didn't understand, and almost immediately, her unease settled.

It wasn't the romantic experience which would made a good story… it would be her yearning to cover that distance between then which she could use to make the story she wanted.

For the briefest moment, she saw tenderness behind the window into his soul… maybe; just maybe, he'd be the one to give her the romantic experiences she'd read in manga, which she'd be able to translate into her story.

Keima noticed the new round of pink that stained Tooru's cheeks, but tried not to make too much of it, rather coaxing her to finish her sentence. Was she not able to write? Did she not want his help anymore?

"Is something wrong?" Keima asked, his voice not betraying his thoughts behind that.

"N-no!" Tooru waved her hands hastily, "I'm just worried that I don't have the romantic experience to write an Aesop like that…" her eyes fell, and Keima felt himself becoming less worried.

"Oh, that isn't a problem," he spoke confidently, "I can help you with that…"

As the words left his mouth, they settled in with both teenagers… did he really imply that he'd give her some romantic experience?

Did he really mean that?

For a fleeting moment, Keima's eyes fell on Tooru, his vision fading out save for her bowed head… he certainly wouldn't deny her beauty, but there was way more to her than that… she was smart and driven… she didn't let her family situation pull her back from what she wanted… even with all the girls Keima had the opportunity of knowing, she somehow stood out differently to him now... stupid Chihiro putting ideas in his head!

She glanced up at him, and while her face was still pink, Keima recognised the look on it… he'd seen it a few times himself…

He stood out differently to her too… and from the look of understanding that seemed to be in her eyes, she might have noticed his growing feelings too.

From the loud screaming and blathering inside Tooru's head, he was right. In fact, the same thought played in both of their heads.

'W-what was that!?'

* * *

 **Ooh, are things heating up or what? Did they just realise the other person has feelings for them? Are they going to confess? I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter :P**

 **Though I apologise for the delay with getting this chapter out... things have been pretty busy around here, and I seem to constantly be tired... which I guess isn't all that different than normal.**

 **In any case, we return back to Keima and Tooru, and the mood between them is looking very nice... I quite liked how Tooru actually read Keima's stack of notes, even though she wasn't all excited when she first saw them... I think she missed him, and that was a good way to feel closer to him by reading what he wrote...**

 **N-not that I'd do anything like that... b-baka!**

 **In any case... review answering time :D**

 **ZelgadisGW-** I remember reading this review during a tutorial and I started laughing out loud at the Steve Irwin reference. Indeed, nothing says romance quite like human killing water dwellers :D

In any case, I'm glad you liked the zoo visit, and the wacky hijinks that followed... I kinda think that if you look past what kind of impression that might have given, Tooru's roleplaying scene was quite cute...

And yes... Chihiro so ships them... she's totally a shipper on deck... on a deck... I honestly hadn't noticed that visual pun... that's too bad...

Well, as things are, Chihiro is happy for them, but she wants to give Keima a pep talk so he'll be serious about it... which I imagine she'd like doing.

Glad you enjoyed the closing line as well...

 **Xellos540-** Yay, and here's another chapter! Though you seem to be kept up for now, so hopefully my close-to-a-week break will have given you more time to do other things...

Like KanonNomi *nudge nudge*

Though yeah... Tooru not appearing for this chapter was a weird choice... I hadn't intended for this part to go on so long, but I kinda needed to open Keima's eyes a bit, before he could start seeing things in a different light... like Tooru ;)

Actually, I had intended for Chihiro and Keima to kiss during that scene (as a goodbye), but at the end, it didn't feel fitting... maybe the romance is over, but the two of them are still close.

This story has honestly been interesting to write... there's been some mood shifts (especially between the silliness of the zoo and what happened after that), but I liked how it flowed...

 **And yeah... for the rest of the people who have read and followed and favourited the story, thank you. I hope you will continue to enjoy this story.**

 **And of course, reviews are always welcome.**


	6. The Girl and her Confession

**Hey guys. Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I got busy with real life stuff, and this was the first day I could make time to post this without eating into time I was supposed to be doing something else.**

 **Though I don't really have much else to say before this, so I hope ya'll enjoy Chapter 6.**

* * *

It was an extended moment where the two teens watched each other, red-faced, and getting redder as they understood the look on the other's face. They liked each other, and it didn't require words for the other to hear it.

"K-katsuragi-kun…" Tooru heard… unlike what she expected, it wasn't her tongue working against her… rather, that name hadn't come off her tongue at all.

Both of them turned to the source, a few feet away from their table, where Yoshino Asami stood.

"And Tooru-san…" Asami moved her eyes, seemingly noting the girl for the first time with a somewhat surprised look on her face.

For a moment, the three teens sized up the situation. Keima had gotten a bit more used to the idea of Tooru and Asami being the same place since the zoo trip, but this was not the time, and he had to repress the urge to escape with Tooru to a more private place and get to the bottom of these strange flags.

Unfortunately, Tooru's brain hadn't gone in the same direction. Like Keima, her jerk reaction was to be annoyed at their little bubble being invaded. They were getting somewhere, and now this had to happen.

However, she wasn't mad… Asami was her friend, and whether her and Keima were having a moment or not, it wasn't right to give her a cold shoulder. It wasn't like Asami even knew what she was interrupting. And Keima wasn't really going anywhere, so they could always talk about this afterwards.

The timing was unfortunate, but considering that the two girls had kept in touch since the zoo, Tooru was genuinely happy to see Asami and talk more in person.

"Heya," Tooru greeted cheerfully, making space in the booth for Asami, "fancy seeing you here today!"

Asami scratched her head, blushing slightly.

"I woke up today, thinking about the coffee from the 2-B Café last year…" she admitted, "Chihiro-san told me that Katsuragi-kun made it here…"

"Oh yeah, Chihiro-san mentioned it at the zoo too," Tooru responded excitedly as she looked up at the black-haired girl, "Was it that good that you came to get some today?"

"It really was," Asami responded, Tooru's enthusiasm rubbing off on her, "one of my classmates even said that it made all other coffees taste like muddy water…"

As Tooru continued the conversation, Asami felt comfortable enough to sit herself down… conversely, Keima had no clue what to make of this development.

He would expect with an interruption like this, Tooru might be a little annoyed… yet the blonde warmly offered Asami a seat and continued to talk with her enthusiastically…

Could it have been possible that he'd misread the mood before… it certainly wouldn't be the first time Keima misread a girl's affection level.

He paused a moment as he listened to the two girls talk coffee… or rather, Asami trying to describe its delectable taste of the coffee that had been served by Keima.

"Tooru… Asami…" Keima inputted, leading both girls to turn to him, "would you girls like it if I made you some of that coffee? It'd save Asami a lot of words."

As he expected, smiles blossomed on both of their faces.

"Yes please," they responded together, before glancing at each other and laughing. Keima smiled despite himself, before getting up to oblige…There was always time later to try and interpret what had happened.

He glanced over his shoulder to see both girls talking animatedly. He'd conquered both girls quite close to each other, but they'd never really met up… excluding the fact that Tooru had seen him kiss Asami, which had shown him the ending of the former's route… as strange as it was to see them in the same vicinity, his heart warmed up at the thought of them becoming friends now… and thankfully, not because they had gained their memories about the conquest or anything.

Back at the table, Asami had just finished describing the amazing coffee Keima had served during the festival, and Tooru's mouth was watering from those words alone… after a few moments of silence, the blonde noticed that her friend was looking elsewhere…

To the counter where Keima was…

"Are you looking at your beloved coffee coming into existence?" Tooru teased softly in Asami's ear, who jumped slightly.

"I-I guess so…" the brunette responded, but as her face turned back, Tooru could tell from her downturned purple eyes and pink cheeks, she wasn't quite telling the truth.

"Then maybe… is it Katsuragi-kun?" Tooru spoke, an eyebrow raised, a few milliseconds after that idea sank in. While Asami didn't open her mouth, there was an undeniable shift in colour of her cheeks.

Asami looked at her evenly filed nails a moment, as she tried to figure out what to say. She wasn't really the best liar, and her face was always an open book.

"D-did Ikumi tell you?" she asked, exhaling in defeat. Half of her class knew about her crush already, so what's one more person?

"She didn't, but your face speaks plenty," Tooru replied… even though she'd expected that, it didn't stop Asami from grabbing Tooru's writing book and hiding her red head behind it.

As adorable as embarrassing the brunette was for Tooru, she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach. Asami liked Keima as well. She had been distracted by her group of friends at the zoo, but now being one-on-one, the longing glance was obvious.

Mari's words about how Keima's female friends came back to mind… Tooru had only met a few of them, like Chihiro and Asami, but it was clear that Keima was on quite good terms with those girls… possibly on better terms than he even knew, judging by what Asami seemed to be getting at…

Well, she knew that now… the better question was whether this new development bothered her… after all, she wouldn't want Keima to get jealous of the looks she got…

But it was different with her… the guys just liked her for her body… however, the girls around Keima definitely saw deeper than that, and if they liked Keima, their feelings were just as legitimate as hers…

If not more… they knew him better than she did…

That realisation hit her like a punch in the gut. Luckily, her face was still blank, and even if Asami hadn't been trying to shield her warm face, she probably wouldn't have seen Tooru's face change.

"I knew I shouldn't have listened to Ikumi," Asami mumbled, rubbing her cheeks, "maybe I can just…" her voice trailed as she stood up, clearly ready to exit. Tooru reflectively held onto the older twin's blouse to prevent that.

"You can't leave now," Tooru spoke firmly, "Katsuragi-kun is already making coffee for you, and you need to make up your mind before you do something you regret…"

As much as Asami would have liked to leave then, Tooru's face and serious words made it clear that she shouldn't… Even her own niggling thoughts were speaking louder than usual, begging her to make her mind… she'd liked Katsuragi for a year already, and she'd barely had the guts to speak with him, let alone confess…

Even today, Ikumi had only gotten here by incessant prodding… quite literally, actually.

She shouldn't leave… she owed it to herself to sort her feelings and what she wanted to gain from it.

With a deep breath, she settled back onto her seat. Then Tooru continued.

"So… do you like Katsuragi-kun?" she asked, not beating around the bush. Asami nodded her head shyly, "and did you come today to confess to him?"

"Ikumi said I shouldn't put it off, because he's currently single, and there's no guarantee how long that will be for," Asami hung her head, "but… Chihiro-san…"

"Chihiro-san?" Tooru cocked her head to the side.

"Y-you know, they were going out…" Asami continued in a quiet voice, "and even if Chihiro-san says that it's okay, I still worry…"

Tooru's heart sank further as Mari's suspicions were confirmed further. Those two had gone out before.

"B-but if Chihiro-san gives her blessing‒"

"I don't believe Chihiro-san would give up like that!" Asami interrupted, her voice jumping as the underside of her fists hit the table, "she still likes him, and I'm not going to be in their way if they manage to patch it up."

"Even if that means you'll never tell him…" Tooru's eyes narrowed. Asami's frustrated look melted into a sad, hopeless one… the frustration was still with her, but it was mostly because the blonde didn't understand it.

"You won't get it…" Asami mumbled, "you haven't been in class with them… or heard her read her confession letter out loud to the whole class…"

Tooru's eyes widened, which the slightly shorter girl didn't miss…

"Yes, she actually did that… and despite her confidence, Chihiro-san is quite secretive about romance, which made her confession a whole lot heavier when she read a letter she was going to give him out to our class…"

Tooru felt her heart clench in sympathy… she didn't like reading a textbook out loud, let alone a love letter that she put her whole heart and soul into… and hearing that, it just saddened her to think that her and Keima weren't together anymore.

"But isn't that more reason for you to confess," Tooru spoke after thinking a few moments, "even if that was the most romantic love letter in the world, things and feelings can change, and Chihiro-san feels that it's time for him to move on…"

Asami opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't have an argument… she didn't understand Keima and Chihiro's relationship at the time, and they were happy for the time they were at the zoo together…

"But it's selfish…" Asami replied weakly.

"In that case, it's okay to be selfish…" Tooru retorted back, "it's not a crime to like someone who was taken… and it's especially not a crime to ask them out when they're single."

Asami's eyes wavered, but Tooru was having none of that… despite her own heart hurting, she still refused to let up on this…

"I think you should still tell him today…" Tooru smiled, "I'll leave you two alone so yo‒"

"Please don't…" Asami interrupted, almost begging, "I've never confessed to any‒"

"Katsuragi-kun!" Tooru called, bringing Keima's attention to the girls again and shushing Asami.

One look at the table tipped Keima that things weren't quite normal… rather, Asami seemed quite harried and nervous, while Tooru was relaxed… even more relaxed from when Keima had been talking to her.

"I'm nearly done," Keima called back, "just a minute."

"Actually, can you put mines in a 'to go' cup?" she asked. That was an immediate warning sign.

"D-do you have to go?" Keima asked, even though that was a pretty duh conclusion… why else would she ask for one?

"Yeah," she responded, "something came up and I'm needed at home… but I'll try finish up my Aesop for tomorrow…"

Despite Keima's internal voice telling him to get to the bottom of this NOW, he finished the task slowly, and transferring the liquid from a mug to a corrugated cup, his eyes kept returning to the two girls, who were arguing in hushed voices, while he tried to get his own thoughts in order.

Why… why would Tooru want to go home? Had he really misread the mood from before… that instead of wanting to be more than friends, she just wanted to be acquaintances who talk about stories? Did Asami say something? Was there any point of trying to get back on route now, considering how fast the situation was changing?

However, there was no point being stuck in his thoughts, so he returned to the two girls.

"Here, I hope this doesn't disappoint," Keima put both drinks in front of them before taking Tooru's milkshake glass. Asami took the coffee with a terrified look, but the blonde's reaction was much more favourable. She took a sip, her smile becoming bigger as the warm liquid covered her tongue.

"Wow, this is really good," she took another long sip, "I can see what all the hype was about."

Keima's eyes fell to Asami, who was putting sugar in her coffee. Tooru decided she was ready to take her show on the road. She opened her purse and pulled out some notes.

"And now I shall get going," she announced as she glanced at her phone, "thank you very much for your help today, Katsuragi-kun. You can keep the change."

"You're welcome," he responded hollowly, "you can let me know if you need any help."

"I definitely will," she spoke gratefully as she stood up and picked up her coffee, "most likely, we'll talk about the final Aesop tomorrow."

"Because that's the day we'd said we'd get it done…" Keima reminded her, "but I'm excited for that…"

"Yes, me too…"

But the cheerful tone didn't matter… Tooru could tell how hollow her words sounded, and even Keima's tone made it clear that there was something odd… or maybe, it was just the unanswered questions…

But at this time, Keima was probably better left without an answer… Asami deserved her chance.

She was a few feet from the table when Keima spoke again.

"One last thing before you go, Tooru…" the blonde stopped, her stomach filling with butterflies. Even glancing at Keima, he wasn't his usual cool self either.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"F-for your Aesop theme… is there anyone you like?"

Tooru internally groaned… for a short question, that was loaded… and that was particularly the question she didn't have the heart to answer, for Asami's sake.

Of course she liked someone… she liked him! But with Asami interested in him and having known him for so much longer, what claim did Tooru have on him?

E-even if it was possible that he could like her back…

For a long moment, the air was thick as the two teens looked at each other with unreadable expressions… Asami herself was starting to get tenser watching them.

What was up with that question?

"I… I…" Tooru stuttered for a moment, before her eyes fell back on the brunette, "There isn't…"

Without another word, she continued out of the café, leaving Keima watching her, an empty feeling in his stomach… Asami's eyes followed her out of the door, before falling back on her male companion…

The brunette couldn't help feeling like she'd made a big mistake there…

But thus went their fourth meeting…

* * *

For a moment, Asami sat dumbfounded, her thoughts barely processing at her eyes followed Keima back to his seat. As bad as she was reading social cues, the look of frustration on his face was unmistakeable. She made up her mind quickly after seeing that.

"Nee, Katsuragi-kun," she spoke in what she hoped was a straight voice, "you should go after Tooru-chan and talk to her."

"She left for a reason, you know…" Keima's gaze was sharp on her, "this trip isn't a coffee run for you, is it?"

Asami cringed… so apparently everyone could see through her.

"N-no, I'll just drink this coffee and go. T-tooru-chan just got a call from…" Asami shrunk under Keima's hardened gaze.

"I'm not in the mood for noise. If you have something to say to me, just say it…" he spoke in a dangerously low voice, making it clear that he wasn't playing games. Asami shivered and shrunk back, a notion which Keima did certainly spot.

For a moment, Keima felt some remorse at those words, which came out harsher than expected… Tooru was just more gracious at being interrupted than he was, it seemed. Her departing line did sting too, but it also told him more than the blonde probably intended for it to.

Whatever Tooru felt, she was holding back for Asami's sake. He couldn't help but feel a parallel to the time he was pursuing the Loose Spirits in them.

"Look, Asami…" Keima attempted again, but the girl continued to back away, "you don't have to go anywhere. Just enjoy the coffee, and I'll go sit at another booth so I stop scaring you."

As Keima stood up, Asami somehow managed to raise her voice, surprising herself as well.

"Y-you can stay here," the bookworm responded in a voice stronger than she felt, "I-I want to tell you about the coffee."

So Keima settled down again, now silently watching Asami lift up the mug with her slightly shaking fingers and lift it up her lips, taking a sip.

As soon as she swallowed, she felt a different heat go from her throat all through her, to the tips of her fingers. As before, it was delicious coffee, but there was something different about it from every other coffee she'd drunk in her life.

It wasn't a very cold day, but this heat was pleasant, like an embrace… like looking into Keima's eyes and feeling her stomach flip flop, but not in one of those ways that made her anxious.

This coffee was like Keima. A warm and comfortable experience which you won't forget, even after it's done…

Maybe her exterior was more composed, but Asami had been anxious leaving her house to come here… she'd been anxious to talk to Keima, but Tooru had helped keep her grounded… Even Keima's eyes made her feel anxious.

But somehow, she wasn't anxious anymore… Ikumi believed in her… Tooru believed in her… and if the coffee could speak, she was certain that it believed in her too… now it was just up to Asami to tell him about how he made her feel.

"So…" Keima looked at her expectantly, "does it match up to the 2-B café?"

"No," Asami shook her head.

With that, Keima's brain quickly returned back, trying to think what he might have done differently to all those months back. He hadn't forgotten his secret ingredient, had he? He ran through the ingredients, fairly certain nothing had been different.

"So it's no good, huh?" Keima spoke, those words feeling a little foreign on his tongue.

"It's better," Asami said quietly, as she took another sip. Keima's mind stopped in its tracks.

"So… it's better…" Asami nodded, the mug moving with her head.

"Last year's coffee was really good, but it's better now…" she laughed as something occurred to her, "I'm fairly certain this makes me a traitor to my club, but this is better than tea…"

Asami definitely noticed the cute hopeful smile that came to Keima's face.

"So it's better than tea?" he asked, starting to look more like his usual confident self now, "that's quite a big compliment coming from a member of the Tea Ceremony Club."

"It is…" Asami spoke, as her smile fell to a more neutral face. She wanted to tell him… this was what she came for… why Tooru had excused herself. She took a deep breath as she picked up an opening.

"T-though there is something I like more than tea…" her voice confident but her brain was anything but that.

"Which is?" Keima raised an eyebrow. Asami took a deep breath, her hand squeezing around her mug as she watched them.

"Y-you…" she tried to say casually, but failed. While the noise of the outside tables continued, it was dead silent at their booth.

Asami glanced up after a few painful moments to see that Keima was still frozen.

This should not be that surprising for him, because he'd known for months that she liked him… but for her to actually confess!

This was the reason that Tooru had walked out… she'd known that Asami had wanted to confess to him. Did that mean Tooru had been lying when she'd said that she didn't have anyone she liked?

"C-can you please say something?" Asami spoke after ten seconds of Keima's mind trying to work through this. Keima cursed himself in his head… no matter how many times he'd been confessed to, he was thrown off his balance every time, and the preceding events just made him even more confused.

"Look… er… Asami," Keima scratched his ear, a blush rising up to his cheeks, "I'm sure you're a great girl – I mean you do seem like that in class… but… umm…"

"You don't have any interest in me like that…" Asami finished, continuing the sentence that Keima was reluctant to say. Somehow, Asami finishing the sentence just made Keima more determined to actually speak. What kind of man would he be if the girl confessing to him had to give herself a straight answer?

"I'm sorry," Keima spoke determinedly, "but I have someone else I like."

The answer was so unsurprising that she couldn't even be sad about it. It was to be expected that he'd hold a candle for Chihiro. In a way, that actually made her feel a bit better. Part of her reluctance to confess lately was that she was rooting for them to make up.

"I see…" Asami smiled, "so are you going to try and get back together with her?"

"You mean… Chihiro?" Keima asked. The ponytailed girl nodded, a bit more excited than she should be at being rejected.

"Yeah, you two seemed to have a good thing going on, so your break-up came as a surprise," Asami admitted, "so do you think you'll be able to patch it up with her?"

Keima frowned, his stomach sinking.

"W-we didn't break up on bad terms, but I don't think that means we should get back together either…" Keima scratched his head, "I wasn't as serious about her as she wanted me to be, and I don't think I can be serious now either."

It did take a few minutes for it to settle, but it did, along with the realisation of the odd scene she'd seen a few minutes ago. Keima liked Tooru.

That realisation came as a kick in the stomach as she realised what she'd done, inserting herself into hers and Keima's conversation with all the delicacy of a wrench thrown between gears, and causing the girl to step away in a motion of friendship.

"I'm so sorry!" Asami blurted out loudly, covering her face with her hands. Keima's eyes widened.

"W-why are you apologising?" he asked at the extreme reaction, "If anything, it should be me saying sorry."

"Tooru-chan knew I wanted to confess, so that was why she left us alone," Asami separated her fingers so she could look at Keima with panicked purple eyes, "I had no idea that I was interrupting something important…"

"Calm down…" Keima raised his hands to usher her back into her seat, "Tooru welcomed you on her own accord, and it isn't your fault that she left."

"Tooru-chan is a good friend," Asami said, but that just made her feel even guiltier, judging by the strangled groan she let out.

"She is," Keima agreed, "which is exactly why she wouldn't want you beating yourself up about that…"

Asami sat, her face still in her hands. Keima wasn't sure if she'd heard him or not.

"So, are you convinced now?"

"I do have bad timing," Asami sighed, "but I wanted to tell you, and I don't regret that I did."

Keima found himself smiling at that.

"You were brave," Keima gave her a pat on the shoulder, "and I'm glad that you don't regret it."

Asami lifted her head up to see his gentle smile.

"I'm sorry I don't feel the same way about you, but I'm certain that one day, you will find someone who will like you back, and he'll make you happy," Keima responded softly. Asami cracked a weak smile.

"Tooru-chan is lucky," Asami replied as positively as she could muster, "you'll make each other happy."

She sighed as she took another sip of her coffee, feeling it return some of her courage. There was definitely something about this coffee which was different to the 2-B Café last year…

In books, this would probably be attributed to love, or something like that… maybe Asami's feelings towards him made it tastier or something…

Ikumi was going to be disappointed when she hears about this…

"Nee… Katsuragi-kun," Asami spoke after a few moments after drinking the last sip of her coffee, "can I be selfish for a moment longer?"

"I thought we already discussed that you aren−" before Keima could finish that sentence, Asami hooked two fingers to his shirt collar and pulled him halfway across the table, before neatly pressing her lips on his.

Keima didn't struggle, rather letting Asami finish when she was ready. It was just as well, because she pulled away a few seconds later, her face pink and her eyes glancing down to her right hand, which had been cradling his neck. As she glanced down at his lips, a fresh round of red stained her face, and she leant back.

He smiled, scratching his jaw. Maybe it wasn't the kiss he'd wanted, but Keima didn't mind that… for all the kisses he'd gotten since he started being involved with real girls, this was nowhere close to the worst… it was soft and tentative and unimposing, but with a surprising amount of passion… very much like the girl who had given it to him.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry…" Asami bowed her head, looking very embarrassed, "Ikumi said I should choose my first kiss to be someone I really liked, and I do understand you like Tooru-chan, but at this moment you guys aren't going ou-"

For a good few moments, Asami blathered about her reasoning, as if she owed Keima an explanation… but Keima couldn't help but think of Shiori…

At least Asami used more punctuation… and she didn't remember that she'd already given her first kiss to Keima some months back… he figured it was better if he kept both thoughts to himself, however.

"It's alright," Keima calmed her down, "I'm not mad at what you did… in fact, I'm proud that you saw an opportunity to get what you wanted and took it."

If it was possible, Asami turned a brighter pink at that praise.

"It was the coffee's fault…" she mumbled, looking into her mug, "it made me do it…"

Keima's eyebrow rose in amusement.

"The coffee… made you kiss me?" Asami shook her head.

"It made me confess as well…" she replied, her lips in a thin line. His smile got wider.

"Should I go have a word with the coffee I brewed?" he asked, "it's not right for it to pressure girls into doing things like that," Asami laughed.

"it's not like that…" she rubbed the still-warm mug, "it gave me courage which I didn't have before," she gave Keima a mock suspicious look, "I bet you put something in there…"

"Nope, just your usual coffee stuff… milk… coffee… sugar… cyanide…"

Asami snorted.

"Am I going to die now?"

"I doubt it," Keima shrugged, "you may taste something which tastes like cinnamon, but it's actually cyanide."

Asami giggled. Honestly, she couldn't remember any time when Keima joked around her, so this was a very welcome change. It took her a moment to remember that she'd actually been rejected.

Somehow, it didn't feel like she'd lost out with him though… even beyond the confession and the kiss, she got to see a part of Keima she'd only observed from her seat two desks behind his: his goofy, witty side which he used on his closest friends.

She was happy to have gotten to see that.

"You know, Katsuragi-kun…" Asami gave him a smile, "I hope you and Tooru-chan do get somewhere…"

"If she actually likes me…" Keima responded glumly, "I'm not holding my breath that she will, if she was so willing to step away."

"I doubt that's it," she shook her head, "she wanted both of us to be happy, so that was why she let me have a chance."

Asami sighed and stood up, figuring it was a good time to go, so she opened her purse and pulled out enough change for her coffee.

"I'm not taking payment for that," Keima flat out refused, despite Asami pushing it to him a few times more.

"Then will you take words as payment," Asami asked one last time. Of course, he raised an eyebrow.

"Depends… what do you want to say?"

"You should talk to Tooru-chan as soon as possible," she responded as she put the money back into her purse, "with what happened, you have to make it clear that you like her, or she'll never know."

Keima nodded. This had gone on long enough. Tomorrow was going to be the last day, so he'd tell her then.

With that, Asami gave him a sweet smile.

"Good luck, Katsuragi-kun," she urged him, "I know you'll find the best ending."

Keima had to stop himself from snorting at that… it had been a while since he'd heard that line.

* * *

 **Heh, the best ending... I'm glad you mentioned that, Asami...**

 **Well, this chapter took an interesting turn... Asami's sudden appearance, Tooru's fairly sudden disappearance... it kinda feels like I made a Copernican revolution of some sort.**

 **In any case, I was quite happy how this chapter came out... it kinda does look like added drama, but somehow, it was fitting to give Asami some closure... she's literally liked Keima all throughout the manga too, and Keima knows that, but as Asami isn't a manga girl... this fanfiction is supposed to boost up the reputation of the LN girls, so I may as well do both.**

 **In any case... I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I believe that the next one should be the last, minus an epilogue, so I don't plan to drag this on further.**

 **That being said, I really want to hear your guys' opinions on this story... I thank Xellos for his play-by-play reviews that he's left on every chapter thus far and the bunch of follows and favourites lately, but I do want to hear from anyone else reading. Is there something more I could be doing, or stuff that you want to see?**

 **Though it's getting late here, and I have a few late nights to sleep off. I'll see you all at the next chapter.**

 **Bye bye**


	7. The Girl and her Adventure

**Hey everyone. Things have finally calmed down with things I have to do, and with today being Freedom Day, I figured now is a good day to post the last chapter of The Story with No End.**

 **BE FREE, CHAPTER! SPREAD MY LOVE FOR TOORU TO THE WORLD!**

 **That's what Freedom Day is about, right? What, no!? Well that's disappointing...**

 **Though that being said, this is the last chapter, save for the epilogue which I will post on Sunday. I hope you guys enjoy the conclusion of this story, and that you hopefully get the fuzzies reading this.**

* * *

At home, Tooru was sitting at her splendid desk, fountain pen between her upper lips, and thoughts drifting all over the place… from the work she should be preparing for the new academic year, to the Aesop's Fables book which were sitting on her bedside table, to Asami… and to how things must be going with Keima.

A knot settled in her throat, but she shook her head to get rid of it… she had no right to be sad when she was the one who had walked away. It was only right, considering that she'd only known the guy for a week, and Asami had liked him for so much longer.

She sighed… she wanted her friends to be happy, but she really wished it wasn't at her expense.

But that wasn't even important… she pulled her brain from that course of thought and returned to what was important. She needed an Aesop she was happy with by tomorrow.

An Aesop… an Aesop… Aesooooop…

She kept repeating it in her head to the point the word lost all meaning, but no ideas came to mind… all she could think about was what Asami and Keima could be up to since she left them… they might have kissed… or be planning their date.

For a moment, she wondered if Keima actually liked Asami back. There honestly hadn't been very obvious hints when he'd seen them at the zoo… but he didn't give obvious hints in general, and Tooru didn't even know his type. Considering his ex, he might like plain, quirky girls, and the blonde certainly didn't fit that bill. Asami was probably more fitting for him in that position.

Maybe she'd misread the signs Keima was giving her in the first place, and that offer to give her romantic experience was to give her more notes about his games, rather than wanting to date her?

GEEZ! COULDN'T HER BRAIN JUST LET HER WRITE ALREADY!

Tooru had to resist screaming out loud, as she nearly banged her head against her desk. However, her flashing smartphone distracted her.

'Kosaka Chihiro is calling'

Tooru felt her stomach clench, even though Chihiro wasn't involved in it at all (beyond her being his ex-girlfriend status). It took a moment to convince her that, most likely, she wouldn't even want to talk about Keima so she probably didn't need to be worried. She took a breath and answered the call.

"Hello," Tooru said, trying not to let her voice waver.

"Yo," the brunette greeted back brightly, "I just wanted to tell you that I read the pilot chapter for _The Dead One_."

Tooru smiled, her guard dropping as her previous thoughts were confirmed. Chihiro's mood even seemed to be contagious from her voice.

"So what did you think of Inami? Do you think she's actually a ghost?"

Tooru kicked away smoothly from her desk to the centre of her large room, facing herself backwards in her expensive swivel chair and leaning forward on the backrest, the way she found to be more comfortable. Talking about some horror manga was just the thing she needed to get her mind off everything.

The discussion continued on for a few minutes as they discussed their first impressions and Chihiro told her about her future theories for the series.

"… And that's the reason why you shouldn't give nine year old kids guns…" Chihiro concluded one line, which earned a laugh from Tooru.

"Maybe that should be my Aesop for my next story," she snickered, "that sounds like an important lesson for us all, and it's not like I have anything better."

"Sounds like writing is being a bummer…" Chihiro responded sympathetically, "maybe you can take a walk outside and clear your head before you start writing."

"I doubt that would help," Tooru sighed, watching her toes in the air.

"Are you feeling restless?" Chihiro asked. Tooru raised an eyebrow.

"No, why do you think that?"

"I've been listening to you shift this entire conversation," Chihiro answered.

"So…" Tooru scoffed, "it's normal for me to move during a phone conversation."

Though that wasn't really the truth… she'd never ever had a friend close enough to call her at home., so there wasn't really any way to confirm.

"Then pray tell…" Tooru could almost hear the smirk on Chihiro's face, "what position are you currently sitting in?"

Tooru noted for the first time that her back was on the seat and her legs were leaning on the back and dangling to the other side, and her skirt was flipped over and dangerously close to displaying her panties… not that there was anyone else in her room to see it.

"I'm sitting normally," Tooru responded calmly as she righted herself.

"Sure you are…" Chihiro smirked, "and you totally weren't straightening yourself up now."

Tooru pulled a face.

"What do you want from me?" exasperation tinged her voice.

"I want to know if there's something bothering you outside of just writing your story…" Chihiro answered simply. For a moment, Tooru was stuck on what to say… this was the first time anyone had ever cared enough to actually ask, so she couldn't help but be a bit touched.

But what could she say… that right now, she was supposed to be chatting to Keima, but she'd left Asami with him… and Chihiro was already his girlfriend at some point! And none of this even had to do with why writing this Aesop was so hard.

"I…" the words flooded her head incoherently, "it's nothing…"

Chihiro didn't deserve to be on the end of her complaining anyway. The brunette had been nothing but a good friend to her, even if she had gotten the chance to be with the guy who Tooru wanted.

"It doesn't really sound like nothing," Chihiro said innocently, although her intention to pry was still there. Tooru couldn't help but be miffed at that response.

"What do you know!?" Tooru snapped back, "You got to date him."

The call went quiet for a moment, as Chihiro absorbed that… even without hearing the name, she knew full well who Tooru had on her mind.

"So he told you, huh?" Chihiro answered passively, still not sure whether it was a good thing or not.

"His mother did," Tooru sighed, "but regardless, I left him with Asami-san, because she said she liked him, and now I can't stop thinking about it!"

Tooru cursed herself… why did she blab so easily at one person's concern towards her!?

"Because you like him…" Chihiro concluded, "and maybe your brain is willing to give up on him, but your heart isn't."

"That makes me the worst, doesn't it?" Tooru sighed, resigning herself to continuing... she doubted Chihiro would stop now anyway, now that she knew this was about Keima.

"In that case, that makes Ayumi the worst… or Tenri-san… or Shiomiya and Kujou… or−" she had to interrupt after that.

"Just how many girls like Katsuragi-kun?"

The line went quiet for a few moments.

"It seems to be nine…" Chihiro spoke incredulously, as if this was the first time she'd counted them out. Tooru chortled.

"I thought you said he was a loser in school."

"W-w-well, I always thought that!" Chihiro sputtered, "You only start noticing your rivals when you actually have to start worrying about them…"

Tooru's mouth closed in a tight line. Maybe Chihiro hadn't said it in so many words, but she was fairly certain that the brunette was talking about the time her and Keima had been dating, and honestly, that was kind of a nice insight to have on her friend.

"Nee, Chihiro-san…" she spoke softly, "why did you and Katsuragi-kun break up?"

"He liked me, but not as much as I liked him… and I didn't see that changing in the foreseeable future," she answered truthfully, but her voice nowhere near the exuberance it was before. Clearly it was more serious issue she kept closer to her heart.

"I-I'm sorry…" was all Tooru could say. Chihiro blew it off with some sounds, her voice going back to what it normally was.

"It's alright, you know… we're still friends, and it gave him the space to grow and find the person who he'll be equal with..." there was a pause, but Tooru didn't have anything to say.

"But that's beside the point of what I actually wanted to say to you," Chihiro continued, not giving Tooru enough time to interpret that last line, "I just don't want you to give up on him, just because other girls are interested in him."

"What about Asami-san?"

"Then what about you?" Chihiro quipped back, "Unless you actually give it a chance, you're giving up way too early, and you'll regret it!"

"But if you realised your friend liked the same guy you did, you'd back away, wouldn't you?" Tooru added, her voice a little shrill. Chihiro responded with another pause.

"If I'd thought too hard about that, I never would have pursued Katsuragi… at least 2 people I consider friends liked him at the time," Chihiro gave a nervous laugh, "though I did only learn about it while we were dating."

Tooru couldn't help but smirk.

"So you would have stepped back had you known?" she was certain of the response she'd get.

"Nope," Chihiro said without needing to think about it, "because I'd decided that I was going to chase him with everything I had."

Tooru felt her heart squeeze. Whether it was from Chihiro's fond voice, or just a reminder of her feelings, she wasn't really sure.

"Admittedly, pursuing someone who isn't single isn't ideal, and it's respectful to step away, but you should do what you feel is best, because that is when you don't regret it."

For a moment, Tooru fell silent, her thoughts going elsewhere… did she regret leaving Asami and Keima alone? She just wanted both of her friends to be happy, and she was giving them the space they might want… but she didn't want to go. She and Keima were having a moment there, and she wanted to see it through.

Chihiro's voice broke through her thoughts again.

"And if that isn't confirmation enough that you should still try, I'm going to send you a picture I took while we were at the zoo," Chihiro laughed, "it's a cute one."

"Of who?" Tooru asked, having an idea what that answer might be. Chihiro just laughed again.

"Just look at it… and remember that things only end when you give up on them."

Tooru's eyes widened at that advice, but before she could ask, she noticed Chihiro had hung up the call. As she looked at her phone, it buzzed from the new email Chihiro sent her.

True to her word, it had a picture, probably taken from Chihiro's phone, judging from the quality. As she loaded it, she felt her heart stop for a moment.

It was Tooru and Keima, both leaning on the fence of some pen, bodies half facing each other as they were completely absorbed in their conversation with each other.

It was cozy… like they were in a bubble of their own. She wondered if that was what the mood had been like in the cafe before Asami had come in.

Tooru sighed as she rolled her chair back to her desk. She didn't want to step on any toes, but she wanted Keima to know how she felt… even if she was just another notch on his belt of confessions, this was something special for her, and she owed herself to see it through…

As the saying goes, it's not over till the fat lady sings…

With a determined smile, she propped the picture up against a book and brought the pen to paper, her mind a lot clearer than it was before.

* * *

After finishing her Aesop, Tooru was so excited to see Keima that she was already asleep around seven o' clock... sadly, she forgot how little sleep she needed, as she was already awake six hours later with too much energy and too much time, with no motivation to do anything other than to see him.

God, she wanted to see him! How the hell was she going to survive 10 more hours before she could leave the house?

Despite how big her house was and all the activities that were available there, it was a ghost town after her parents were asleep, and it wasn't like she had any siblings to go bother. The polite part of her was reluctant to even message anyone at this time of night, so all she really had were her mobile games, and how long would five lives even last her.

As expected, 20 minutes later, she was done and counting the clock again. This was just ridiculous.

She wanted to see Keima.

Well why not just see him? His house wasn't all that far…

She shook her head wildly, trying to shake the thought out of her head. She couldn't sneak out of her house!

And now her hair was a mess from all that shaking!

Yet despite all that shaking, the idea wouldn't leave her… not when she was packing her bag for tomorrow… not when she changed back into some decent street clothes… not when she was peeking from side to side from her door… not when she bribed the security guards to hide her exit… not when she was outside with her bag either.

Wait, what the hell happened!

Tooru's heart level was skyrocketing as she walked her usual, but surprisingly unfamiliar, route toward the park where it all began… partially because she only knew the route from there, and partially because she felt like she wanted to see this… one way or another, things were going to change tonight… she was going to tell him before something else stopped her… she'd probably apologise to Asami in the morning for overstepping, but for now, this was what she was going to do.

She hugged her bag to her chest before continuing towards his house.

As she approached the darkened house attached to Café Grandpa, she couldn't help but gulp… she'd been polite not to message people in the middle of the night, yet here she was at his house around two in the morning. As rude as it was, she wasn't going home now… She shakily pulled out her phone and pulled out Keima's number…

Man, he was going to regret giving her this… she thought as she dialled it. He picked up after 5 rings.

"Tooru?" he sounded pretty surprised at the timing, "is everything alright?"

"Err, yeah," she answered, her head spinning slightly, "c-can you tell me which one is your room?"

"M-my room?" he repeated.

"Y-yeah, I'm outside, and I'm not sure which room is yours," she heard some clambering before a light turned on in her vision.

"I just turned on my light," he spoke, where Tooru hurried under that window.

"Ok, I'm outside now…" the window opened, as Keima's harried face appeared at the window upstairs, phone pressed to his ear, his naked eyes squinting as he tried to wake up his brain and get it to speed.

For a moment, time slowed down for Tooru as she saw him in his pyjamas without glasses. Somehow, that sight just brought the happy butterflies back. This sight was worth the agitated thoughts, and the waiting, and the effort it took to get out of her house. He was here now.

"W-what are you doing here, Tooru?" Keima asked. The girl gave him a sheepish look.

"I-I was so excited that I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wait," Keima watched her with a raised eyebrow, "It is Wednesday so I want to show you my completed draft."

Keima was still in a state of disbelief, but he motioned for her to stay, while he went back to get something, which he then tied on his railings and dropped down.

It was a rope ladder. Even in the dark, Keima could see the look she gave him.

"What, I have to sneak out for midnight events…" he looked at her defensively. Tooru just smiled though. He was always prepared for anything, it seemed. Keima motioned her up with his hand as she hesitated.

It wasn't too high off the ground, but Tooru couldn't help the sinking feeling in her heart. She wasn't the most active child, and rope was always daunting for her in gym class.

"I-is it going to fall?" Tooru asked worriedly, trying to push her worries in another direction than her climbing skills. Keima tugged the knot hard and shook his head.

"It's always held me, and I'm pretty sure that I'm heavier than you," Tooru gave a nervous chuckle.

It was just a ladder… if she could climb it, she would reach him. She pushed her fears aside and put her backpack over both arms. With a determined breath, she gripped onto the sides tight with both hands and put one foot on the first rung. She had to force the eep down when she felt herself teeter forward.

"Tooru," Keima called to her softly, "you'll spend longer trying to get your balance there. Just climb on the ladder and don't look down."

She gulped but listened, bringing her second foot on the ladder. As soon as her foot left the floor, she felt the ladder swing under her.

"No no, that's even worse…" she whispered, squeezing both her hands and eyes. Keima groaned.

"Look up at me," he said firmly. She shook her head before clinging back to the ladder. Honestly, he did find her scared face to be quite cute, but it wasn't conducive for her. He needed her inside, and unfortunately, he didn't have any Hagoromo to help her with that.

"Please, Tooru…" he begged, "I'm right here and I'll pull you in when you're close enough, but you have to get close first…"

"I-I won't fall, right?" Tooru squeaked.

"You won't," Keima assured. Obviously, the blonde wasn't convinced, which was when Keima thought up an idea.

"That rope is magical, so you can't fall…"

To his surprise, that worked at getting her to open her eyes, though moreso in surprise than anything.

"I-it's magic?" she repeated.

"I can't explain how it works, but it won't let you fall if you believe in it…" Tooru felt herself relax with those calming words, after which Keima offered his arm out, "just take my hand, and you'll be safely inside."

With a deep breath, Tooru slowly climbed the ladder, trying to not take too much notice of her feet sometimes missing the rungs, or how they sank when they were securely on it. Keima's hand was her goal, and this ladder was magical. It wouldn't let her fall.

Most people wouldn't be assured by such outlandish claims like but, but for long as she could remember, magic was the one thing she hoped that existed... something bigger than her, which would give her the strength to move forward.

After what felt like an hour, but probably was only a few minutes, Tooru saw Keima's hand in reach. With her heart pounding from more than exertion, she took his warm, larger hand and felt herself being hoisted up.

Her eyes widened at how easily he pulled her up. He was stronger than his gamer body betrayed.

Keima eased her down, but it seemed that the climb up had zapped a lot out of her, as she started buckling on touching the ground. Without thinking, he held onto her.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. She just looked dazed as her eyes landed on her waist, which was now being supported by a very unfamiliar pair of hands.

Oh God, Keima was holding her. Her eyes rose to his in a panic. It was almost around the same time when the gamer realised what he'd been doing as well, and a blush started rising to his cheeks as well.

"Aah- well…" he sputtered, not quite comfortable with where his hands were, but still scared of letting go and possibly dropping her if she hadn't gotten her balance yet, "w-what if you fall?"

"I-I-I think I'm fine," Tooru shook her hands, "I won't fall."

Keima hesitated a moment longer before he left her thin waist, hovering over it for a moment longer before he was assured that she'd been right. Then he stepped out from her personal space. Tooru couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Maybe they were unfamiliar, but it certainly wasn't unpleasant having his hands on her waist.

It was funny that he'd talked about magic... for a moment, she couldn't help but see this whole situation as magical...

With all of what had happened, this was the first time they could stop and actually see each other. Keima was wearing a white shirt and light blue pyjama pants, his glasses sitting on his bedside table. Tooru was wearing capri pants and a hoodie, her hair still tied in the same ponytail as before, so it was a lot looser and messier.

For a long moment, neither teen were sure what to say. This was a very different situation than they were used to, after all. Keima was the first one to break the silence.

"You look… different," he remarked. This was the least dressed up he'd ever seen her…

"Is that a bad thing?" she wondered out loud. Keima shook his head.

"N-no…" he backtracked, "it's just stands out less than what I've normally seen you in, but it suits you…"

Tooru blushed and averted her face, her fingers running through her fringe and front part of her ponytail. Keima blushed as well, at the sudden urge he felt to rub her soft hair as well.

Keima squeezed his palm, the slight pain of his nails reminding him that this wasn't a dream… Tooru was really in his room at two in the morning, and she looked even cuter than before.

"Though… how was the coffee?" Keima asked, trying to distract himself and remind himself of the reality he actually existed in. Tooru appreciated the distraction.

"I-it was really nice," she responded brightly, where he motioned her to keep her voice lower, "it was so rich that I was certain it was made by an angel."

"It was just me," Keima smirked, "unless you mean to say that I am an angel."

Tooru blushed again, and he bit his lip… everything was just awkward now… like things had changed between the few hours they hadn't talked... like magic...

But there was no denying that this was another weird flag… girls don't just pop up at his house in the middle of the night to talk about something that could have waited till the morning. Clearly, this was something bigger than that, and Tooru was feeling the pressure… she probably needed some time and space before she could speak her mind…

But first, he'd better make this place safer… he didn't want his family barging in.

As he turned towards his door, he felt his heart leap in his chest at what he saw.

"Eri!" Keima spoke. Tooru froze, her flight instinct not really working. This was Keima's sister, if she remembered… and she was just at the door in her pyjamas, looking at them.

"Nii-sama, do you have any pudding?" Eri asked, her voice clouded with sleep. Keima just looked back, confused. Was she even awake?

"Umm… no," he responded. Eri then turned to Tooru, her face lightening up.

"You have a pudding girl," the sister exclaimed, moving towards Tooru. Before Keima could move her elsewhere, Eri was right in front of Tooru, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

Eri gave Tooru a big hug, earning a small eep from the blonde. Keima quickly motioned to her that his sister most certainly asleep, and had just walked out from her room. From past experience, the best way to deal with her was to talk with her and steer her back to her room.

"No, she isn't a pudding girl…" Keima tried to pull Eri back, but the little sister still had too hard a grip on Tooru.

"But she has pudding hair!" Eri whined, running her hands through Tooru's gold locks. At this point, Keima pulled Eri away before she tried sampling the "pudding".

"Eri, there's pudding in the fridge…" Keima started steering her back towards the door.

"Wait, Nii-sama! Did you know that we weren't the only twins born on the sixth of June? Asami-san is also-"

"Yeah yeah…" Keima shut the door behind him as he continued to Eri's room, leaving Tooru alone for the first time since she'd been here. She was still dumbfounded, rubbing her arms which tingled from that hug. It was a very different feeling from Keima holding her, but she wouldn't deny how pleasant that was.

That whole feeling of magic just seemed to be getting stronger here. For an ordinary house attached to an ordinary cafe, those two siblings seemed anything but ordinary. From the start, Keima had shaken up her life and brought to light a different kind of magic than she'd known... everyday was magical, but somehow, she felt that he would show her even more.

Also, she couldn't wait to meet Keima's sister.

At that point, Keima returned back to the room, this time making sure to lock the door. He was met by the sight of an amused Tooru leaning on his lower bed post. Keima gave her a questioning look.

"I think I'm going to like your sister," she laughed, "trying to bite someone's hair makes one hell of a first impression."

Honestly, as strange as that hug was, it was really comforting and warm, and it calmed Tooru's nerves.

"I'd say you should meet her when she's awake, but I'm fairly certain she'd do something odder than that."

That earned a polite and sincere laugh from Tooru, but as it came to a close, she noticed Keima was staring at her.

"Why did you come here, Tooru?" he asked, getting to the crux of the matter. Keima was certain that if it was just the story, this could have waited till the morning.

"I-I wanted to show you my story," Tooru scratched her head, looking somewhat embarrassed, "and I have to talk about something else as well."

Her resolve had hardened now... if he was going to gift her with all this magic like some angel, he deserved to know how she felt.

"I see…" Keima replied blandly. It was probably the 'something else' which couldn't wait till morning, but he didn't want to pry and scare her from talking about it, "would you like to sit down?"

For the first time, Tooru looked around at her surroundings to Keima's room. It was a decently sized room, but more notable was the system which took up the biggest space. Multiple screens and consoles lined the walls, and a comfortable swivel chair with smaller consoles surrounding it like a doughnut, sat a few metres away. There was also a shelf with his games, and his bed she was leaning by, now a little messy, as he'd probably been sleeping in it comfortably some ten minutes ago.

Just, he didn't have a studying desk, or a chair to sit in. He probably expected guests as often as she did… meaning: never.

Given her fear of mistakenly hurting his impressive gaming setup (would he ever cease to amaze her), her best options were to sit on the floor, or sit on his… bed.

"I-is the bed fine?" Tooru asked. Keima nodded, so she pulled her bag down and placed it at one corner on the floor, while she gingerly sat at the corner of the bed.

Yep, it was about as embarrassing she imagined sitting on a guy's bed would be… it only got more nerve-wracking when Keima sat next to her, leaving less than a metre of space between them.

She was frozen looking at him for a moment, before he spoke.

"Can I see your story now?" Tooru's heart stopped skipping as she logically thought about it. He'd need to be close to read her story. She quickly and clumsily pulled out her folder and presented the sheet of paper that she'd scrawled her final draft.

Her hand was shaking as she passed it over. Keima tried to give her a warm smile as he took it, in hopes that she'd feel more comfortable… but they were both fish out of water here, so it would only do so much…

Tooru was glad that he didn't read it out loud, for the sake of her nerves.

 _THE PENGUIN AND THE GOLDEN EGG_

 _The penguin surveyed the item in front of her with interest, noting its gold and shiny exterior. This had to be valuable, right? She had to take it to her family._

 _However, as she looked to the direction where she'd come from, it was on an uphill. Luckily, it was a good shape for rolling, and that was exactly what she did, carefully manoeuvring it up the hill till her wings and legs ached, and her fur seemed to stick with the exertion she put herself through._

 _However, she felt an accomplishment she'd never felt before as she pushed the gold object over the peak. As she caught her breath, she noticed her family had moved after catching fish, and were now on an even higher and steeper hill._

 _She gave the object a wistful look and continued._

 _IT'S ONLY THE END WHEN YOU GIVE UP_

Keima had to read it twice to even begin to understand the meaning, but when he did, he could tell that it was a lot heavier and harder-hitting than her last Aesop.

"Y-you'll notice that I left the last line ambiguous, so it isn't clear whether the penguin continued to push the egg or not," Tooru blushed as she said it. She couldn't help but be embarrassed at her work being scrutinised.

"I did notice that," Keima gave her a warm smile, "is this the kind of Aesop you hoped to write?"

Tooru gave a small nod.

"W-well, Chihiro-san kind of gave me the idea of the lesson, and this was how it came out…" she scratched her temple shyly, "do you like it?"

"I do…" Keima whispered, "it's the kind of Aesop only you could have written."

This wasn't the first time he'd said something like this, considering Shiori's own novel about her and her books… he'd seen them both grow and write something, which wasn't perfect, but showed the kind of person they were and what they experienced to get here.

But he wanted to know more… what Tooru had been thinking and feeling to write this… why she'd scrapped her romance theme to write this one… whether this was a lesson she was going through now…

Was he even this curious with Shiori's story? He could argue it was because he'd also been worried about the other Goddesses, but he was sure it wasn't just that.

Maybe he couldn't put his finger down on what he liked about Tooru, but he was certainly open to the idea of learning what it was.

"Nee… Tooru…" she looked up at him, "is there something you feel uncertain of giving up on?"

The blonde felt her heart squeeze. He'd really set up a perfect opportunity to come clean… to tell him how happy she was to meet him… how this week had changed her life, and how she wanted him to keep spreading the magic… how she wanted him to teach her more about romance too.

But it scared her how hard and how fast she fell… she didn't know him that well, and there were seemingly many girls who had feelings for him.

With every pro and con list, there was always something which was so heavy that it blew all logic to the curb. She liked him, and she wanted him to know that.

She liked the road which had led her here, regardless of the insecurity and uncertainty of it… and if he allowed it, she'd continue on this road a little longer, and hopefully continue to grow and see what she was capable of.

"T-there is," Tooru nodded slightly, "that was the other thing I wanted to talk about."

Keima's curiosity was piqued, but he tried not to be too eager.

"And what is that?" to his surprise, she put both her hands over his.

"I-I wrote it so that my Aesop had no end, and that the possibilities of its continuation would be endless…" Tooru spoke, not taking her eyes off his, "isn't that what life is like?"

Keima gulped slightly at the intense look she was giving him, but the question was clearly rhetorical, as the blonde didn't wait for an answer.

"I nearly gave up on something I wanted yesterday, until a friend reminded me on why I shouldn't…" she took a deep breath, "and I know now isn't an ideal time to say it but… I like you!"

For all the eye contact she'd been able to keep, it fell with that last line. As happy as she was to finally get it off her chest, she was definitely nervous of how he'd react… and if he was going out with Asami, a confession like this would make him more awkward than anything… she wasn't even sure how he felt, other than that comment during their meeting at the café, which could have meant other things as well.

It was just quiet as Keima watched her, his face getting hotter as he absorbed what she said. Granted, this wasn't a complete surprise, but it still warmed his insides into a pool of butter.

She liked him… she liked him… she liked him!

"Err… Tooru," he uttered her name in a way she hadn't heard it before, which raised her eyes again. Almost instantly, she noticed something different about his face too, "I like you too…"

Tooru couldn't help the mini freakout going on in her brain. His confession repeated like a mantra, as a goofy smile came to her face. Suddenly, a question popped up in her head.

"W-wait, what about Asami-san?" Keima looked a bit worried.

"I told her the truth… that you were the one that I liked," he scratched his head, "I tried to be as gentle as I could, and I think it worked."

For a moment, Keima eyes stuck on her, remembering the last time he'd been so close… when the minus fog was about to consume her, and the loose spirit in her continued to put up a fight… she needed the strength to believe in herself and 'the prince' was the one to give it to her…

But she didn't need that now… she knew of the eternal plus which was inside her, and she didn't need any prince to tell her that… she was still the angel she'd been before, but she didn't need a prince. She just wanted him.

For Tooru, the entryway to any person's heart was through their eyes, and his were glancing down at her lips… so she obliged, fulfilling both of their desires.

For what was a brief kiss, their feelings it conveyed wasn't all that different from their first…

Warmth… acceptance… hope… everything…

For a moment, Tooru touched the cross necklace which she hid under her shirt… why did this feel so familiar?

That thought took a back seat as Keima smiled at her warmly. Tooru felt herself heat up again, but more from happiness than embarrassment.

"Are you glad you didn't give up?" he asked. Her face turned up.

"If I had, I wouldn't have known that magic exists," she responded sweetly. Keima couldn't help but run his hand through her hair affectionately.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet…" he answered, but Tooru's mind drifted off elsewhere, so it wasn't clear whether she heard it.

"You know…" Tooru wondered out loud, "maybe I shouldn't give up on writing Aesops either…" suddenly, an excited look came to her face, "I'm going to write a hundred!"

Keima groaned, as Tooru pulled out some more scrap paper to work with.

"Hey, you still promised you'd teach me about romance," she gave Keima a hard look, which made him freeze, "I look forward to that…"

Keima couldn't help feeling a sense of whiplash just from seeing her expressions change, but he couldn't say he hated it… it was just one thing he'd come to expect from the Real… reality is stranger than fiction sometimes…

Like if someone had told him that the girl whose house he'd broken into at night some 10 months ago would do the same to his, he'd kick them to the curb.

The only way that could have been weirder would be if Tooru had seen Asami kiss him yesterday…

"Tooru," the girl looked up, now having made herself a bit more comfortable in his bed, "how did you even sneak out of your house?"

"I'm glad you asked," she responded happily, before she went into her story, with Keima stopping to shush her every minute when she started becoming too excited.

The two teens continued to chat well into the morning, making their fifth meeting last as long as they could. As it settled down, Keima promised himself that someday soon, he would tell her about the meetings she had forgotten.

* * *

 **And there you have it... I ended up doing a lot of editing today which meant I ended up reading it, and I feel so fuzzy right now. I'm hoping this conveys as well as I hope it did, because I really enjoyed writing this story... also, the name of this story hopefully makes sense now! :D**

 **Honestly, this story just started out as a one-shot I was going to write for Xellos540's birthday, but this became quite special for me too. I am the type who could ship all of the Kaminomi girls with Keima, but I think the more I write about it, the more real and natural the couple feels... trust me, I am having a lot of "feels" for these two.**

 **But yeah... this story is close to complete now, and all that is left is the epilogue. I truly hope that I did Tooru and Asami justice in this story, and that anyone who hasn't read the first light novel at least give it a try... the characters in that were just as dynamic and real as the manga itself, but the clunky translation does make it a little harder to read. It's definitely worthwhile in my opinion.**

 **Ok, so reviews answering time now!**

 **ZelgadisGW:** Heh, that line sounded awfully tsundere... honestly, I've never pegged Tooru to be one of those, but I imagine she'd act like that for fun towards Keima now...

A-and it's not like I imagine Tooru to be similar to me... b-baka!

Though you're right... that part of the chapter was quite tense... in fact, I think after the zoo visit, things have been changing slowly between them, and they just needed that last step to get there... luckily, that is what chapter 7 is about :P

I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 6 as well... originally, I didn't have as much involvement from Asami, but that just goes to show how dynamic thoughts are... also, I do like Asami, but considering the nature of the story, it wasn't meant to be, though even as a rejection, I think Keima did that pretty well... coz character development :D

And yes... coffee is a dangerous thing. That's why I've never liked it :P

 **Xellos540:** Heh, I'm always happy to hear when people enjoy my stories, so this was a nice review to come across.

I had actually considered making Asami's presence known at the end of chapter 5, but it already ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger without it, and I thought it would be too mean... especially for people who couldn't wait to read the next part.

I really enjoyed reading your play-by-play commentary of this chapter. I did feel kind of bad about Keima having to reject Asami, but I don't think it was a bad thing for her. Honestly, it was strength both on Keima and Asami's part which got them there, and even though it does hurt, I don't think she would regret confessing to him.

It kind of the same with Chihiro and Keima in this story... falling in love is a valuable experience, and even if it ends in heartache, it is still worthwhile.

Also, cyanide coffee xD! That's what all coffee is going to be called by me from now on.

 **That being said, I thank everyone who read, followed and favourited this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading this, and that you will let me know what you think in a review. For now, you guys stay well.**


	8. The Girl and her Non-ending

**YAAAASSS! Epilogue time!**

 **There isn't really all that much to say about this part, other than this possibly being the shortest thing I've ever posted which is not a drabble. Still, I think this worked well as the conclusion to this story, and this will be the final thing to this story before I mark it as complete.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

Tooru and Keima were leaning on the tree that they'd first met(well, not technically, due to some forgotten memories) each on their individual gadgets… well, Keima was on his PFP, but he couldn't help but watch his girlfriend's face as she poked her smartphone determinedly.

Her tongue between her lips was a particularly cute trait.

Today was a particularly big day for her, and she was nearly there.

"And done!" Tooru exclaimed, locking her phone, "One hundred Aesop's posted…"

"Well done," Keima gave her an approving nod, before going back to his game.

"That was a pain…" she groaned as she stretched, "why didn't you stop me when I first pitched that ridiculous idea?"

Keima shrugged.

"You just seemed really into it, and I was thinking of something more important around then…"

Tooru looked sceptical.

"What's more important than aesops?" she asked.

"You," he responded simply. As he expected, Tooru became somewhat of a tomato and started playing with her fingers on her lap.

It had been several months from that impromptu sleepover that started Tooru and Keima's relationship, within which she decided to continue her Aesop writing career… at first, it had been because she hadn't actually fulfilled her objective of writing a romance based Aesop, but also, she wanted to push herself further…

That night had been the first night she'd ever snuck out, but it only continued her list of firsts… her first kiss (well, second… bloody memory erasing!)… her first boyfriend… her first time bribing the guards to cover for her at home…

But it continued from there… from meeting more of his friends and family (especially as his girlfriend) to going on dates…

It wasn't all good though… there were fights… jealousy... having to deal with his crappy taste in clothes… her parents…

But it was all worth it… even now, she wasn't sure of their eternal fate as a couple, which is why she learnt to appreciate the journey so much. Each day, she learnt something new about being a couple, and each day, she learnt to love him more and more, even if it was for the smallest things.

"Keima," she called, and she turned to him, "do you want something sweet?"

"Like ice-cream?" he raised an eyebrow, "I'm not really one for sw−"

But she wasn't listening, as she put her hand behind his neck, closed her eyes and gave him a deep kiss. His eyes fluttered shut as well and he kissed back.

"I can get on board for that kind of sweets though," he smiled and kissed her forehead. She smiled and leant her head on his shoulders, looping her arm through his and watching his screen. She'd done this often enough that he continued, his head automatically leaning on hers.

As such, continued their nth meeting, reaching past the point either of them could remember. They didn't mind though… they would never really run out of things to learn about each other, even if they were together forever.

* * *

 **See, told you it was short :P**

 **There you have it... While happy, this isn't the end of their story. That's true in real life as well, I'd say.**

 **We continue, one step at a time, through the smiles and the tears, till we reach the place we want to be.**

 **So as a message to anyone reading this, please don't give up on the things you want. It may be hard and frustrating, and you will stumble a lot, but you can always look behind you to realise how far you've come along.**

 **Just know that you're not alone. There will always be someone at your back, watching fondly as you grow and struggle forward, and if you can't do it for yourself, at least do it for them.**

 **So reviews:**

 **Xellos540:** Yay for long reviews! Thank you for that, btw.

Heh, I don't doubt that Tooru is quirky either... she literally wore one of those comically large noses in a previous chapter, so she definitely is... She isn't brunette though... I wonder if she's biracial, actually :P

Heh, and Chihiro comes to the rescue, whether you want her to or not. As Zelgadis pointed out in his review, Chihiro as a supporting role is definitely a common feature in any of my "not-about-Chihiro" stories... it's always about Chihiro with me *yandere face*

Heh, though speaking of Chihiro and manga... she actually hasn't shown any disliking of manga in canon, only anime... and even if you consider it logically, I think she'd actually like manga, coz they come in special magazines, and involve less reading. :P

Though onto the later parts, I enjoyed writing Tooru breaking into Keima's house. Eri coming for the pudding was especially fun, but maybe she should have sampled that pudding :P

100 short stories... I wonder where I heard of that? :P

 **ZelgadisGW:** Heh, I have completed the story with no end... such is the contradictory nature of the Real... Keima would probably complain about this :P

I'm glad you got what I was getting at with the last chapter. Tooru said she wanted to write about a lesson she'd learnt, and by the end, she'd done exactly that... it's only over when you give up, and Tooru does not give up... that's honestly why I find her quite endearing.

Also, thank you... For me who both likes magic and call backs, this scene was really nice to write, and I hope I can write more like these as I continue.

 **So yeah... that's kinda it for the reviews. Special thanks to Xellos and Zelgadis, who reviewed every chapter that came out. I also thank the people who favourited, followed, and just read this in general, and I hope that now that it is over, you will want to give me your opinions *wink wink***

 **Though just the fact that you opened this story and gave it a try is quite special. When I first started writing this, I didn't imagine anyone would want to read a story about a character from a lesser known Light Novel, but considering that 441 people have viewed this story in its lifetime, that isn't the case. I'm sorry to not have heard more opinions about this story, but I do sincerely hope that you all enjoyed it.**

 **Now I guess the question is, where to from here... Because my timetable is so sporadic and I get busy, I can't promise any regular posting time, or what I'll even post... just one thing I can say is that I haven't given up on my other stories, and I will attempt to post them... my particular issue is that if I end on a cliffhanger, I don't feel comfortable posting until I'm at least a little further in the story, which is partially my reason why I haven't posted my latest chapters of DMT and Overboard.**

 **I know I'm the worst, and I apologise for my lack of motivation.**

 **That being said, I do have a much longer story that I can begin to post, and I may just do that... it isn't a Keima and Chihiro story, but rather, it is very much a harem, and very much NSFW... It might not be for kiddies, but my "focus group" seems to be quite fond of the story and do think I should post it, so I guess I'll listen. I'm not sure when, but I'm hoping that will be soon.**

 **So yeah... this is my last update of this story, and I wish you all the best. I hopefully will see you guys in my next story :)**


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